A Description of the City: The Order of Millennial Administration (21:9-14)

 

v.9 A New Departure.  This verse begins a parenthesis in which the Spirit of God goes back and describes the true church in her millennial glory. Note: in Rev. 17:1 on of the angels of the seven bowls showed John the great whore sitting on many waters, now another angel of the seven bowls shows John the bride, the Lamb’s wife. The false church is both a corrupt woman (harlot) and a corrupt city (religious babylon). The true church is both a holy woman (bride & wife) and a holy city (Jerusalem). The book wouldn’t be complete without these added details. See note Ψ on Rev. 19 for use of “wife” and “bride”.

 

 

v.10 The Holy City. As Moses surveyed the promised land from Pisgah; so John is permitted to behold the Church in her millennial glory from a heavenly vantage point. Two things are mentioned, and we might apply them to two qualification that we need to apprehend this incredible sight. First, John had to be “in the Spirit”,  and we need to give the Spirit of God full control of our faculties, or be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Second, John was taken to “a great and high mountain”, and we need to have God’s viewpoint of His people, seen from a past eternity, in light of Calvary’s work (Eph. 5:27, Num. 23:9). The church comes from “the heaven,” her home, and “from God”. Always seen descending from God, her character is always heavenly. It never says she touches the ground; it is always “over the earth” (Rev. 5:10).

 

 

 

v.11 The Glory of God. The Church will come with the glory of God. The church is not divine, but rather is a vessel to transmit or reflect His glory. Hence, she has “shining” but not “light”. It is a reflective shining, not an intrinsic shining. The shining is “like a jasper” or a diamond – the revealed glory of God will be reflected in the church in perfect purity, with no flesh, and no defilement. Jasper is used three ways symbolically: for (v.11) glory, (v.18) security, and (v.19) stability.

 

 

vv.12-13 Walls and Gates. Why does the church need a wall in the millennium? A wall always speaks of separation in the scriptures. The wall will keep out anything that is not of Christ and the gates will let in what is of Christ. A wall is needed because in the millennium evil is still present on the earth. The numeral twelve signifies the perfection of government on or towards the earth. The angels at the gates are servants in waiting. The glorified saints are the administrators now, and the angels are subject to them (Heb. 2:5). Gates in scripture always speak of a place of judgment; e.g. Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Here we can see that Israel is not in the city (heavenly saints) but directly involved with the administration that issues forth from the city. Like Nehemiah’s wall, this one has gates. But there are no need for locks and bars, the glory of God is enough to prevent defilement.

 

 

v.14 The Foundations. The foundation of the church is the apostles’ doctrine; i.e. “built upon the foundation of the apostles” (Eph. 2:20). Israel is named in the gates – outflow of administration. But in the foundations (structure of the city) the apostles are named, and Israel has no part. Even in the millennium the church is distinct from earthly Israel. In Matt. 19:28 the Lord foretold that the twelve apostles would have the special privilege of ruling over the twelve tribes of Israel. Clearly, the twelve apostles will have a special role in the administration of the kingdom. However, in Jesus’ parable in Luke 19:11-27 the lord goes away into a “distant country to receive for himself a kingdom” and rewarded his servants with administrative responsibility over cities in that kingdom. This shows that all the heavenly saints will rule over the other cities of the world in the millennium! The seat of authority for the kingdom will be in the heavens, the throne of the Son of man (Psa. 103:19). However, the mode in which Christ will take His possession is the Church (Eph. 1:18). The church will be over all nations, but over Israel specifically are the twelve apostles. Israel on the earth will be governed by “the prince” (Ezek. 44:3), then other leaders of Israel called “seven shepherds” and “eight principle men” (Micah 5:5), and then out to the gentile nations.

 

The numeral twelve. If anything tells us this portion refers to the millennium it is the abundant use of the numeral twelve, which speaks of administration. There are eight sets of twelve: (1) twelve gates, (2) twelve angels, (3) names of twelve tribes of Israel, (4) twelve foundations, (5) names of the twelve apostles, (6) 12 x 1000 = 12,000 stadia: the length and the breadth and height of the city, (7) 12 x 12 = 144 cubits: wall thickness, and (8) twelve fruits on the tree of life.

 

The Dimensions of the City: Perfection in Administration (21:15-17)

 

vv.15-17 Dimensions. When God measures something He is demonstrating His ownership of it, and His purpose to take it up for blessing (see Rev. 11:1, 2). The millennial Jerusalem on earth is measured with a line of flax (Ezek. 40:3). The city of gold – the new Jerusalem – is measured with a golden reed, because while there is imperfection on earth, the church measures according to the mind of God. These dimensions could not be physical. The distance of 12,000 stadia is 1,500 miles. For reference, the earth is 7,900 miles in diameter. If it were literal, it would be like balancing a Rubik’s cube on top of a basketball. The dimensions however are not meaningless. The fact that the city lies “four-square” shows universal administration in the millennium. The fact that it is square shows finite perfection from every aspect. Twelve-thousand stadia (twelve times a thousand) is God’s administration perfection in the millennium. The wall was 144 cubits (thick?), which is twelve times twelve, perfection in administration. The glory of God surrounds the city as a wall. The wall is measured separately, but its size is quite disproportionate to that of the city, which gives us a key that these are symbols. “A man’s measure” indicates symbols that humans can understand. The heavenly city is composed of men and women. 

 

 

The Construction of the City: Reflected Glory (21:18-21)

 

v.18 The Wall and Interior. The wall itself is jasper or diamond. The wall is what you see looking at the city, the reflected glory of God (see v.11) now in the aspect of security. The interior of the city is pure gold, which speaks of divine righteousness, the results of justification.

 

vv.19-20 The Twelve Foundations. Men use the cheapest stones they can to build foundation, but not God. In addition to having the names of the twelve Apostles engraved on them (v.14), the foundations of the wall speak of the various glories of Christ that God has worked into the saints, often by pressure (Isa. 54:11-12, Psa. 4:1). These stones are a display to the world. It is not so much the way the church knows Him, but how the world will see Him through the church (see 1 Cor. 3:11).

 

#	Stone	Color	Possible Meaning
1	jasper	clear	Christ’s GLORY as seen by man
2	sapphire	deep blue	Christ’s character as a HEAVENLY man
3	chalcedony	light blue	Christ’s companion, A HEAVENLY bride
4	emerald	green	Christ’s Purpose to bless the EARTH
5	sardonyx	red & white	Christ’s glory as incorruptible JUDGE
6	sardius	red	Christ’s glory in JUDGMENT (blood)
7	chrysolite	green-gold	Christ’s judgment in the EARTH
8	beryl	blue-green	Christ’s sovereignty over LAND & SEA
9	topaz	orange	Christ’s glory as the FAITHFUL one
10	chrysoprasus	green	Christ’s glory as the Lord of LIFE
11	jacinth	red-orange	Christ’s character of HOLINESS (fire)
12	amethyst	violet	Christ’s glory as KING of kings, etc.

List of precious stones. Often when you get a list of precious stones in the word of God (three times) it speaks of a display of God’s glory: (1) in creation (Ezek. 28:12), (2) in redemption (Exo. 28:15-21), and (3) in the fulfillment of His purpose (Rev. 21:19-20). But it is precious that God’s glory will be displayed by the Church, and through us as individuals. The list speaks of the individuality of believers to the heart of God and the heart of Christ. The list of stones that were found in the breastplate of the high priest spoke of the individual tribes of Israel (Exo. 28:15-21), one for each tribe. It represents the preciousness of each one to the heart of God. In Malachi 3:17, the Lord speaks of individual believers; “And they shall be mine… in the day when I make up my jewels”.

 

 

v.21 The Gates and Street. The pearl sets forth the preciousness of the church in Christ’s sight (Matt. 13:46). Pearls don’t come out of the earth, they come out of the sea. In the millennium there will be a display to every quarter of the world of the unity of the church, and her value in the eyes of Christ. Each gate was “of one pearl”. The unity of the church will never be dissolved. As various stones our individuality will always be preserved. The street is the practical walk of the believer. In that day the practical walk (street) will match the standing (city, v.18) of the church; i.e. divine righteousness. Also, there is only one street in the city, as there will be only one fellowship of the saints.

 

The Operation of the City: Fellowship with God and the Lamb (21:22-27)

The Church in the Millennium. The influence of Christ and the Church in the world during the Millennium will replace the influence of evil spirits in the world today. Today the demons are used by Satan to cause terrible trouble on earth. When Satan is bound, then the Church with come down from God out of heaven, and beam the light of God down on the earth. It is then that the nations, so far from being stirred up into restless activity, are healed by the leaves of the tree of life. The nations, says the Spirit, will “walk by her light”.¹

 

 

v.22 No Temple. The fact that there is no temple shows the contrast between the earthly Jerusalem and the heavenly city. There will be a temple in the earthly city (Ezek. 41-44). In the holy city full and free access to God is equally granted to all, no priest or mediator is required. What takes the place of a temple is: (1) God in all His Old Testament names, and (2) the Lamb, who is the image and Word of God towards man.

 

 

v.23 No External Illumination. Independent created lights (sun and moon) are for the earth (Gen. 1) and are not needed in the heavenly city. The glory of God has lit up the city, but the Lamb is the avenue by which the light is displayed. Always, the person of the Father is the source, but the Son is the tangible person of the Godhead. Stephen saw “the glory of God” and it was coincident with “Jesus standing… etc.”

 

 

vv.24-26 A Reflected Light to the Nations. In this we get a clue that this is not the eternal state; there are no nations mentioned in the eternal state (vv.1-8) but they are present in the millennium. The heavenly city will provide divine wisdom and guidance to the nations, and in return the nations will do homage to the One who is the light of the city. As with any dispensation, there is supply (light) and demand (worship). The church will finally fulfill the purpose that it was placed here for, and in which she has failed so badly in the present dispensation (Phil. 2:15, Eph. 2:7). There are “gates” because it is a two-way stream; light and blessing going out, glory and worship coming in. This stream will never cease throughout the thousand years. “Night” or moral darkness may still exist on the earth, but not in the heavenly city. The Church will be the means of displaying God’s glory, but also the collector of the glory brought back to God from men on the earth. This will continue into the eternal state when there are no longer nations (Eph. 3:21). Note that it doesn’t say the nations come “into it”; there will still need to be separation from evil in the Millennium (v.27).

 

v.27 What Can and Cannot Enter. All the blessing that God will bring to the earth in the millennium will be without defilement. Today, the financial systems of men are based on greed and corruption in the name of desiring the greater good. This verse isn’t saying that sin will be expunged from the earth in the millennium, but that sin will have no fellowship with the church. On the other hand, the elect on earth will have free fellowship with the heavenly saints in that day.

 

The Earthly and Heavenly Cities. Millennial Jerusalem below is in many respects the counterpart of Jerusalem above. Both cities are seats of government. Both have twelve gates. Both have living waters, and both have trees of fruit and healing. However, in the earthly millennial Jerusalem the living waters issue from under the temple (Ezek. 47:1); whereas in the holy city the river flows from the throne. The river on earth parts into two heads, the river in heaven doesn’t part at all.

 

The River: The Blessing of God on the Earth Through the Church (22:1-5)

 

vv.1-2 The River and Trees. The “river” is a clear reference to the river which “went out of Eden to water the garden” (Gen. 2:10). However, there is no parting of the river in the celestial city “into four heads”. The “water of life” speaks of the communion with the Father (God) and the Son (Lamb) that has always been the source and stay of eternal life (John 17:3). We have this water as believers; the present possession of eternal life and the Spirit as the enjoyment of it. The “throne” was previously connected with judgment (Rev. 4), but now it becomes the source of blessing… the fulfillment of the rainbow. The river runs along the street of gold, which confirms that the throne of God and the Lamb is in the city, and from it the river flows out to the world. The “tree of life” (Christ Himself) provides everything that is needed for the satisfaction of the saints (fruit) and for the blessing of the earth (leaves).

1. The river brings refreshment (heavenly saints)
2. The fruit brings sustenance (heavenly saints)
3. The leaves bring healing (earthly nations, not required by the Church)

 

vv.3-4 The Curse Lifted; The Throne and Servants. In the millennium, the curse pronounced in Gen. 3:14 will be removed. Not that sin will be removed, but the curse (Rom. 8:21). Very clearly we have the throne, the source of authority, in the city. This is the first time that we have a description of people in the city. All previous descriptions have been of inanimate objects such as the walls and gates. This class of “servants” is very broad, including all the heavenly saints from Old and New Testaments. Who does the “his” in “his servants” refer to? God and the Lamb are so united that the personal pronoun is used. It is God being revealed through the Lamb! Three things are said of the servants:

1. They shall serve him – service to God is counted as privilege, motivated by pure love!
2. The shall see his face – the face once marred for them (Isa. 52:11), to see it will produce heavenly joy!
3. His name shall be in their foreheads – we will be publicly owned as belonging to Him!