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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
March 1, 2026
*The Second View of the New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:9-27
Introduction
We began our study of the new heaven, new earth and new Jerusalem last week by examining Revelation 21:1-8. I will review those verses quickly to set the context for the study today of Revelation 21:9-27. This part of the chapter gives John an additional view of the new Jerusalem which increases his and our understanding of it. * However, I will state up front that you may have more questions than answers by the end of the sermon because there is simply not that much described. As stated in Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever . . .” Nevertheless, what is revealed is wonderful and more than enough to make you long for the day that it will come to pass and we will be there. Because of the Lord’s nature and character already displayed in both the wonders of the current creation and the wonders of His love displayed in Christ to redeem sinners, we can trust Him that what will not be revealed to us until then will be more wonderful than we can imagine. In Romans 8:18 Paul stated the importance of such hope for the future saying, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
*The New Heaven and New Earth – Revelation 21:1
Revelation 21:1 begins with a very simple statement about the future after the Millennium. 1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.” *I went over this in detail last week explaining that this is not a renewal or renovation of the first heaven and earth for those will have passed away. 2 Peter 3 describes their destruction in graphic terms of being destroyed by burning with intense heat with the elements melting and coming apart. *John quickly recognizes that the new heaven and new earth will be different from the present ones for there will no longer be any sea. That eliminates the hydrological cycle and tides which are critical to life on the present earth from being a factor in the new earth.
*First View of the New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:2-8
The radical differences between the present earth and the new earth will continue to be noted as John gets his first view of the new Jerusalem in verses 2-8. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.” 5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “They are done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Since I covered these verses in detail last week, I am only going to remind you of some of the radical difference between what it will be like in the future compared to what it is like in the present.
*1) The new Jerusalem has its origin in heaven, so it is not constructed by men (vs. 2).
*2) God will dwell in it with His people (vs. 3). That will be a return to what it must have been like in Eden before Adam and Eve sinned. The closest approximation of that after the fall of mankind into sin was when God manifested the glory of His presence in the Tabernacle and then later the Temple with a column of smoke by day and fire by night.
*3) God’s comfort will be complete and permanent so that there were be no mourning, crying, or pain (vs. 4). This is due to point 4.
*4) There will be no death (vs. 4). Because death is the consequence of sin, this indicates there will also be no more sin.
*5) All things become new (vs. 5). It will not be like the old
*6) Related to these last three points, there will not be anyone wicked there for all the wicked will have been condemned by their deeds at the judgment before great white throne and cast into “the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” The wicked will eternally suffer conscious pain and be separated from God and His people
*Second View of the New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:9-27
As we move down to verse 9 we find that John is given a second view of the new Jerusalem in which he describes both its physical characteristics and who will have access to it. John begins in verses 9-11 with its origin and general description. In verses 12-23 he gives a physical description, and in 24-27 he describes who has access to it.
*Its Origin & General Description – Revelation 21:9-11
9 Then one of the seven angels who have the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 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, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like precious stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.
*There is some contrasting parallelism here between the new Jerusalem and the great harlot Babylon back in chapter 17 which was also shown to John by one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls. That this is one of those angels is probably related to the fact that the wicked will be excluded from the glories of the new Jerusalem as part of their punishment. This may be that same angel as in 17:1, but it could also be any of the other six. Both begin with the same words, “Come here, I will show you . . .” The new Jerusalem is first described as “the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” That is a contrast to 17:1 in which it was “the judgment of the great harlot . ..”
*The bride metaphor for the city was already introduced in verse 2 to describe its beauty, and here that metaphor is expanded. The bride is now specifically stated to be “the wife of the Lamb.” The metaphors convey the intimate relationship that Jesus, the Lamb, has with the people that He has redeemed that inhabit the new Jerusalem. That is a contrast to Babylon the harlot that has a relationship of mutual exploitation by the people associated with her.
*The angel takes John “away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain.” The mountain is not identified because no mountain known to the readers would exist since they would have been destroyed as part of the old earth and this is a mountain on the new earth. *From this new vantage point John is shown “the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” That is a repeat of vs. 2. The new Jerusalem comes down from heaven because its origin is God. As I pointed out last week, this is the ultimate fulfillment of Abraham’s quest of faith described in Hebrews 11:10 that “he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” It is fulfillment of what Jesus said in John 14:2-3, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you, 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
*John then describes the general beauty of it in verse 11, 11 “having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like precious stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.” That gives the specifics of what was meant in verse 2 “as a bride adorned for her husband.” Note that John uses a simile to describe the brilliance of the glory of God emanating from the city. It is like a precious stone of Jasper that is crystal-clear (ijavspidi krustallivzonti / iaspidi krystallizonti). That description best fits a diamond or something similar, and it is a sharp contrast to the description of Babylon dressed as a harlot. The point of the parallelism to John’s readers is that they will either follow the way of Babylon and be judged or be overcomers that follow Christ and will be blessed in the new Jerusalem.
*The Physical Description – Revelation 21:12-24
I am going to read through verses 12-24 first which intertwines the descriptions of the city’s various components. I will then come back and describe each component individually. That should give you a good idea of what the new Jerusalem will be like. I will go in the order of its size, wall, foundation stones, gates, and source of light
12 It had a great and high wall. It had twelve gates and at those gates, twelve angels; and names have been written on those gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13 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. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” 15 And the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and its wall. 16 And 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, 12,000 stadia; its length and width and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, 144 cubits, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. 18 And the material of the wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold, like pure glass. 19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; 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 one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 And I saw no sanctuary in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 And the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
That is quite a description and it stretches us to imagine what it will be like since many aspects of the description are beyond anything that can be experienced on the current earth beginning with its size.
*Size. It is immense. The size of the new Jerusalem given in verse 16 stretches our imagination. It is 12,000 stadia long, wide and high. The word translated as “square,” tetravgwnoV / tetragonos, was used for a cube shaped stone used in building. The length, width and height are all equal, which also indicates that this is a cube. That is the same shape as the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:19-20). *A stadia is a distance of between 189-215 yards (170-190 m), so 1,200 stadia calculates to be between 1,288 and 1,465 miles (2,072 – 2,357 kilometers). *That is the distance from here in Wappingers Falls, NY west to Omaha, Nebraska and south to San Salvador in the Caribbean which would include about ½ the Gulf of America. *Or to use a simpler spatial picture, it would be from the eastern boarder of Nevada east to the Mississippi river, and from the Canadian boarder to San Antonio, TX. It would be an area of between 1.66 and 2.15 million square miles (2.67 – 3.454 million sq km). *It would also be that high – a little higher than low earth orbit satellites. That indicates that our resurrection bodies will be radically different for the death zone for a normal human body is just five miles (8 km) elevation. *It would have a volume of between 21.4 – 31.4 million cubic miles (89 – 131 million cubic km). That indicates that the ability to move around such distances will have to be different too. Our glorified bodies will be radically different from what we have now, and the new Jerusalem will not be like anything that exists today.
*Wall. Verse 12 states that “It had a great and high wall.” Verse 17 then adds the measurement of it to be 144 cubits. A cubit is the length from your elbow to your finger tip, so it ranges from about 17 ½ inches to 20 ½ inches. The measurement of king Hezekiah’s tunnel was 1,200 cubits long, and it has been measured to be 1,749 feet, so the length of the cubit in Israel was 17.49 inches. *The text does not say whether this 144 cubits (210 feet) is the height or the width of the wall. It if is the height, that is extremely small compared to the height of the city, yet it is still high by conventional standards. *It is just a little higher than Solomon’s porch which at 120 cubits (175 ft) was the tallest point in the temple. The general height of Solomon’s temple was about 30 cubits (43′ 9″). John points out that human and angelic measurements were the same because it was the angel that measured the gates and the wall with his gold measuring rod (vs. 15).
*This wall was not to protect the city because all of God’s enemies have been cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and the gates through them are always open as will be noted in verse 25. A wall was a common feature of ancient cities, and this one beautified the overall appearance as is seen in the description of it.
*Verse 18 then reveals that “the material of the wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold, like pure glass.” We just noted in verse 11 that the appearance of the city as “a stone of crystal-clear jasper” was probably a reference to a diamond. The use of jasper to describe the appearance of God on His throne in Rev. 4:3 also points to it having a brilliant, radiant appearance. *Dr. Thomas points out that the etymology of the term translated “material” here, ejndwvmhsiV / end m sis, means “building in,” which may indicate that this wall may have the jasper – diamonds – embedded in it instead being completely made of it.
*The City itself was “pure gold,” yet very different from what we think of as gold because it was also “like pure glass.” And yes, glass making extends back to ancient times and glass blowing into the 1st century, B.C., and John is writing near the end of the 1st century A.D., so John is describing something that is translucent, like a raindrop, from which the word is derived. Verse 21 adds that “the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” All of this would be extremely beautiful, but what is pure gold that is transparent like pure glass? Gold is opaque and looks shiny because it reflects so well, but pure glass is clear and transparent.
*Many years ago I read a science article that described gold being translucent if it is flattened to a layer thin enough. Literature reports this to be a thickness of 100 nanometers or less. The technology to do this has been around for a while. The face shields on the helmets of astronauts are coated with 24 kt (pure) gold. It shields them from ultraviolet and infrared radiation as well as extreme temperatures and lunar dust, yet they can see through it clearly.
*But this brings up a different issue. Gold, and especially pure gold, is not a good building material because it is so malleable that it flattens even under low pressure. Pure gold could not withstand the extreme pressures of a city so tall. It would crush down on itself. Building materials that could withstand the physical stresses could be plated with gold, but that would result in the city and its streets being opaque instead of like transparent pure glass. *So we find again that John is simply describing what he is seeing, but it is a new world that is very different from the world we exist in today. As seen in just this description of the city, what we know about this present world cannot be applied to the new one to come. This is yet another proof that this is not a renewal, renovation or reconstruction of what is current. The new earth will have many similarities with the present one, yet it will also be extremely different operating with physics we do not understand. But then, it will be a world in which what is spirit will be displayed in physical manifestations, just as John has been describing throughout the book in talking with angels and the scenes in heaven.
*Foundation Stones. In verse 19 John describes the foundation stones of the city wall. 19 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.
*These foundation stones of the wall extend up high enough that John can identify them, and they add to the beauty of the scene. The arrangement of these stones is uncertain. *One suggestion is that they are buttresses arranged as a corner-base – gate – base – gate – base – gate – corner base. Another idea is that they are layered one on top of the other. The criticism that this would not be practical is irrelevant because we have already seen that engineering principles of the current world will not necessarily apply in the new Jerusalem. I noted last week in examining verse 2, the word translated as “adorned” has a meaning of “to cause something to be beautiful by decorating,” and that seems to be the purpose of these stones.
In this verse the term “adorned” is referring to the foundation stones themselves as objects which beautify the whole in the same way Luke 21:5 describes the beautiful stones of the temple adorning it. Each of the twelve foundation stones is then listed in order from first to last. *If there is a particular symbolic meaning to each of these stones, that is not explained in the text, and effort to equate them with other things have not been satisfactory. For example, the breastplate of the High Priest (Exodus 28:15-21) had twelve different stones adorning it with each stone engraved with the name of a particular tribe of Israel, but only eight of these foundations stones correspond with the stones in the breastplate.
*Verse 14 adds that written on the twelve foundation stones “were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” We will have to wait until we are there to find out whether it is Matthias (Act 1:23) or Paul (Roman 1:1, etc.) that has his name written on one of these foundation stones. These are specifically the names of the “apostles of the Lamb” which point to both this being the city of the Lamb and also distinguishing the distinctive role of the church in the new Jerusalem from the role of national Israel in it. *Israel’s distinctive role is manifested in the gates of the wall having the name of a tribe of Israel engraved on it (vs. 12). The church does not replace Israel even in eternity. As Paul explained in Romans 11:16-29, the church is grafted into the root of Israel. God’s gifts and calling are irrevocable. The church joins the saints of Israel in the new Jerusalem.
*The stones themselves are beautiful, and arranged together are even more beautiful, and the beauty of what he is seeing appears to be his emphasis. *Jasper (i[aspiV / iaspis), the both the first foundation stone and what was used in the wall itself as stated in verse 18. As explained earlier in from verse 11, this is probably a diamond or something similar. It was clear, reflective and therefore brilliant. *The second stone is sapphire (sajpfiroV / sapphiros), which is blue or if referring to the lapis lazuli, sky blue flecked with gold. *The third stone, chalcedony (calkhdwvn / chal d n), refers to an agate from near the city of Chalcedon and may have a green silicate of copper. *The fourth stone, emerald (smavragdoV / smarados), is green. *The fifth stone, sardonyx (sardovnux / sardonux), is a white stone with layers or red or brown in even planes. *The sixth stone, sardius (savrdion / sardion) is red. *The seventh stone, chrysolite (crusovliqhoV / chrusolithos), is a compound word meaning “gold stone,” and is a golden yellow of either a yellow quartz or topaz. *The eighth stone, beryl (bhvrulloV / b rullos), is green to bluish green in color. *The ninth stone, topaz (topavzion / topazion), has a yellow-greenish color. *The tenth stone, chrysoprase (crusovpasoV / chrusoprasos) is a translucent golden-green color. *The eleventh stone, jacinth (uJavkinqoV / huakinthos), is a blue-violet color. *The twelfth stone, amethyst (ajmevqustoV / amethustos), is a violet to purple color more brilliant than jacinth. *The overall appearance will be stunning.
*Gates. The gates through the wall are first described in verses 12-13, and then more detail is added in verse 21. John sees twelve gates. These are large gates (pulwvn / pul n) which would be normal for the entrance to a city, and there was an angel at each gate. Each gate had the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel inscribed on it. *John is somehow able to view all four sides of the city and sees there were three gates on each side of the city – north, east, south, west. This follows the same pattern for the entrances into Jerusalem in the millennium described in Ezekiel 48:30-34. *The Jerusalem of the millennium was tiny at 4,500 cubits (2,187.5 yard / 1.25 miles / 2 km) on each side compared to the new Jerusalem on the new earth which will be 1,2000 stadia (1,288 – 1,465 miles) on each side. The Jerusalem of eternity is radically different than the millennial one.
*Verse 21 reveals one of the more surprising things about these gates. These are large city gates and each one is made from a single pearl. It will be beautiful, but I have a hard time comprehending what that will be like and a pearl that large. And how big must be the clam or oyster that would produce such pearls? The largest pearls that have been recorded so far all come from giant clams. The Palawan Princess at 5 pounds ( ), and Pearl of Lao Tzu at 14 pounds ( ) are small compared to the huge Giga Pearl at 61 pounds (27.65 kg) and giant Pearl of Puerto at 75 pounds (34 kg) and 26 1/3 inches across, but these will be puny compared to the pearls used for these gates.
*Sanctuary. John notes in verse 22, “And I saw no sanctuary in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary.” Sanctuary (naovV / naos) can also be translated as temple. It refers the location of God’s abode and therefore the place He is to be worshiped. In ancient Israel God manifested His glory in the tabernacle and later in the temple. *In the millennium, the temple will be a principle aspect of Jerusalem with Ezekiel 40-48 giving a very detailed description of it. *In the new Jerusalem there will not be a temple because “the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary.” As emphasized back in verse 4, God will dwell among His people in the new Jerusalem. They will not have to go to a specific place to worship Him for His presence permeates the new Jerusalem as pointed out in verse 23.
*Source of Light. 23 “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” *This is the shekinah glory that filled the tabernacle and later the temple that drove the priests out. But being sinless and having glorified bodies, the saints can be in its presence, and the radiance of His glory will be all the illumination needed for the new Jerusalem and beyond. That is why there will be no need for the sun or moon to shine on it. They can add nothing to it.
*What John has described will be incredibly beautiful. Not only are the materials used make the new Jerusalem beautiful, but light from the glory of God will be radiating out from it. No wonder John describes it in his first view “as a bride adorned for her husband,” and in his second view as “having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear jasper.” Light will be radiating from it like a diamond.
*Verse 24 describes that light extending beyond the new Jerusalem. 24 “And the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.” That will be the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah 60:3 concerning the coming glory of Yahweh, “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.”
*There are a lot of ideas about whom these nations and kings might be, but since the text is silent on the issue we are left with speculation. This is one of the “secret things” that God has not chosen to reveal to us yet. Most of the ideas about this are untenable because they either confuse aspects of the millennium with the new Jerusalem of eternity, or they fail to recognize that all the redeemed are glorified and can be part of the new Jerusalem, and all the unredeemed are cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. *One idea that tries to avoid those particular pitfalls is that they are made up of those who are saved who neither die during the millennium nor join Satan’s rebellion at its end. They are transformed before the destruction of the present heavens and earth and changed to be able to live on the new earth in a state like Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden before the fall into sin. They will live sinless lives in paradise regained. The plausibility of this rests on an argument from silence since Scripture does not indicate what happens to those that do not join Satan’s rebellion and survive to the end of the Millennium.
*Another idea emphasizes that the words for the nations here (ta; e[qnh / ta ethn ) refers to “the people” or “the Gentiles” and suggests this is simply demonstrating the equality of all peoples in both ethnic heritage and class. All will walk in the light of God’s glory, and even kings yield their glory to God.
But all these ideas are speculative for God has not yet given us an answer to the identity of those outside the new Jerusalem. We will know their identity and living situation in eternity.
*Accessibility – Revelation 21:25-27
Verses 25-27 gives us insight about accessibility to the new Jerusalem. 25 “And its gates will never be closed by day, for there will be no night there.” The gates of a city were typically closed at night to keep out intruders who wanted to sneak into the city without being recognized. There is no night there, so there will never be a need to close the gates.
*Those outside the city 26 “. . . will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.” That is a reemphasis of verse 24. The kings of the nations bring into the new Jerusalem the choicest of their treasures, whatever those might be.
*Like verse 8 which concludes John’s first view of the new Jerusalem with a warning to the readers of the prophecy, so the conclusion of his second view of the city ends with a warning. 27 “And nothing defiled, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” *This does not suggest there are any who are defiled, practice abominations or lying left to enter into the new Jerusalem. It echoes the warnings given at the end of each of the seven letters to the churches in chapters 2 & 3. The only way to receive the blessings is to be an overcomer. Those who are not will be excluded. The only way to be an overcomer is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him.
*Conclusions
We will get to John’s third view of the new Jerusalem and the new earth in Revelation 22:1-5 in the next sermon in this series, but we are out of time today.
*To those of you who have not yet turned from your sin and pride to humbly place your faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, please take the warnings in Revelation 21:8 & 27 to heart. You will be excluded from all the wonderful things described in this chapter, and your part will be in the eternal lake of fire and brimstone. Get right with God today. Talk with me or any of our church leaders. We are glad to answer any of your questions and show you how you can be saved from sin and its consequences by God’s grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
*If you are a true Christian, then rejoice. You will be an inhabitant of the new Jerusalem. You will see all the glories described today. You will be in the place where God dwells among His people.
Sermon Notes – 3/1/2026
The Second View of the New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:9-27
Introduction
Eternity will be wonderful from what is revealed, but there are many questions about it left _____________
The New Heaven and New Earth
– Revelation 21:1
The old heaven and earth are ______________ and new one created. The new earth will not have a sea
First View of the New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:2-8
1. Its origin is in heaven – it is not constructed by _________ (vs. 2)
2. God will ________in it with His people (vs. 3)
3. God’s ___________will be complete & permanent – no more mourning, crying or pain (vs. 4)
4. There will be no more _________(vs. 4)
5. All things become _________(vs. 5)
6. No one who is __________will be there (vs. 8). The wicked will be in the eternal lake of fire & brimstone
Second View of the New Jerusalem
– Revelation 21:9-27
Vs. 9-11 – Origin & General Description. Vs. 12-23 – Physical Description. Vs. 24-27 – Access
Its Origin & General Description – Revelation 21:9-11
There is some contrasting parallelism with the new Jerusalem and the great harlot _____________in Rev. 17
The bride ____________introduced in vs. 2 is identified as “the wife of the Lamb” in vs. 9
The angel takes John to a new vantage point on a great & high ____________
In a repeat of vs. 2, John sees the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from _________
The general beauty of it is brilliant like crystal clear jasper – probably a _____________or something similar
The Physical Description – Revelation 21:12-24
Size is immense – 12,000 stadia cubed ~1,288 – _______miles. Here to Omaha, Nebraska, to San Salvador
The area east of Nevada to the Mississippi river, and from the Canadian border to San Antonio, TX
Height reaches to low earth __________satellites. Volume of 21.4 – 31.4 million cubic miles
The Wall is high & beautiful. 144 cubits (@17.5″) ~ _____feet. The height of Solomon’s porch was ~175 ft
Walls of ancient cities were to protect. This wall was meant to ________, for there will be no enemies there
The material of the wall is jasper – diamond? Perhaps ___________into the wall
The City, and the streets, are “pure gold, like pure ___________.” Gold is transparent at 100 nm or less.
Gold is very ______________and cannot be used as a structural building material even if thick
John is describing a new world that is very __________from what exists today. This is not a renovated earth
Foundation Stones are beautiful. They extend high enough John can see them, but arrangement is _______
The stones could alternate with the gates or be layered – they are meant to ___________, not to be structural
If the stones are meant to be symbolic, that is _________________, & all attempts have been unsatisfactory
Each foundation stone has the name of one of the twelve _________of the Lamb – which signifies the church
Each of the 12 gates will have the name of a tribe of __________on it – the church does not replace Israel
The stones are beautiful. Jasper is clear & brilliant (diamond?); Sapphire is _______. Chalcedon is greenish
Emerald is _____. Sardoyx is white with layers of red or brown. Sardius is ____. Chrysolite is golden yellow
Beryl is green to _______________. Topaz is yellow-greenish. Chrysoprase is translucent golden-green
Jacinth is _____________. Amethyst is violet to purple. The overall appearance will be _______________
Gates – vs. 12-13, 21 Twelve large gates each inscribed with the name of a tribe of ____________
There are _________gates on each of the four sides of the city – following the pattern in Ezekiel 48:30-34
The millennial Jerusalem will be tiny (____ miles each side) compared to the new one (1,288 – 1,465 miles)
Each large gate is made from ______________. The largest pearly on record is only 75 lbs, 26.37 inches
Sanctuary – vs. 22. There is ________________in the new Jerusalem for God dwells among His people
Source of Light – vs. 23. The source of light for the new Jerusalem & beyond is the _________glory of God
What John describes will be incredibly beautiful with the glory of God _____________________from it
Light from God’s glory extends beyond the new Jerusalem to illuminate the _____________outside it
It is ________________to identify the nations & kings of the earth in vs. 24 for they are not clearly revealed
Could they be the saved who lived through the Millennium that did join Satan and so are transformed?
Could it be a reference to equality of all people regardless of ethnicity or class?
Accessibility – vs. 25-27. vs. 25 – The gates ________________________because there is no night there
vs. 26 Those outside the city bring their __________ and honor into it
vs. 27 – Nothing defiled and no one practicing abomination and lying can __________ it
vs. 27 is a _______to those reading the Apocalypse they need to be an overcomer to enter the new Jerusalem
Conclusions
If you are not a true Christian, you will not see the new Jerusalem unless you get __________with God
If you are a true Christian, you will see and dwell with _________ in the new Jerusalem in eternity
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the new Jerusalem is mentioned. 2) Discuss with how beautiful the new Jerusalem will be and how to be sure you will dwell there in eternity
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. In Revelation 21:1, what is the relationship of the new heaven and new earth to the first heaven and first earth? What radical differences are there in the description of the new Jerusalem in Rev. 21:2-7 from what exists currently? What is the purpose of 21:8? What is John’s vantage point for his second view of the new Jerusalem? What is the meaning of the bride and wife metaphor in vs. 9? What are some of the contrasting parallels between the new Jerusalem and the great harlot Babylon? What precious stone does the description of jasper fit? How large is the new Jerusalem? How high is its wall? What is it made out of? What are its 12 foundation stones made out of and what would that look like? Whose names are on them? The city & its streets are made out of pure gold, transparent like clear glass. What could that be? What is the location of the 12 gates? What are they made out of? What names are on them? What aspects of the new Jerusalem demonstrate it is radically different from what exists now? Why isn’t there a sanctuary? What is the source of light? Who can enter it? Who is excluded? What is the purpose of verse 27?
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