1. “The city which has the foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God”; “A better country, that is, a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:10, 16).
The first verse speaks of a city which has the foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God. According to the Bible, this city is the future New Jerusalem. This is the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (12:22), the Jerusalem above (Gal. 4:26), the holy city, New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2; 3:12), which God has prepared for His people (Heb. 11:16), and the tabernacle of God, in which God will dwell with men for eternity (Rev. 21:3). The city that God is building will come out of His house; therefore, just as the church, God’s house (1 Tim. 3:15), is being built today, this city also is being built.
In the Bible God reveals that He wants His house to become a city. He is building His house today so that it will become a city in the future. At the beginning of the Bible there is a garden, and at the end of the Bible there is a city. Both this garden and this city have many similar features, and those who carefully read the Bible agree that the New Jerusalem in Revelation signifies the culmination of God’s work that began in the garden of Eden in Genesis. A garden is a place for a house. God’s work throughout the ages is to build His garden and His house into a city. He wants to enlarge His house into a city, and this city, the New Jerusalem, will be the Paradise of God.
2. “The city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22; see also Gal. 4:26).
The coming New Jerusalem, which God’s dwelling place today will become, is a heavenly city, a city that God has designed and built. As such, it is God’s dwelling; it is the city of the living God. Thus, the coming New Jerusalem is called the city of the living God and the heavenly Jerusalem.
1. “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7).
This verse says that the tree of life is an outstanding feature of the Paradise of God. Since the tree of life is in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:1-2), the New Jerusalem must be this Paradise. According to Revelation 2:7, eating of the tree of life in the Paradise of God will be a reward in the millennial kingdom. Only overcoming believers will enjoy the blessings in Paradise during the millennium. Later, at the time of the new heaven and new earth, all believers will enjoy these blessings. The Paradise of God, the New Jerusalem, is clearly different from the Paradise in Hades. The Paradise in Hades has existed since Old Testament times, but the Paradise of God is related to the coming millennial kingdom and will not be completely manifested until the time of the new heaven and the new earth. The first Paradise is under the earth in Hades; the latter Paradise is the heavenly Jerusalem. The first Paradise is for the spirits and souls of the righteous throughout all time until the Lord returns. The latter Paradise is for the resurrected, raptured, transformed, and overcoming believers during the millennial kingdom and for all the resurrected, raptured, and transformed believers in the new heaven and new earth.
1. “A new heaven and a new earth...The holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:1-2).
The last book in the Bible, Revelation, shows that when God’s work in the universe is finished, the old heaven and old earth will pass away, and the new heaven and new earth will come. The New Jerusalem will be in the new heaven and new earth as the eternal dwelling place of God and all His redeemed in the Old and New Testament times. This New Jerusalem is the Paradise of God and the holy city of God. This holy city is very mysterious, and every point concerning it manifests deep spiritual meaning.
2. “The city lies square...twelve thousand stadia; the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal” (Rev. 21:16).
The length and the breadth and the height of the holy city are equal. In principle, these equal dimensions reflect the equal dimensions of the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament (1 Kings 6:20). This signifies that the entire holy city is God’s Holy of Holies in eternity.
3. “The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:14).
Since the twelve apostles represent the redeemed New Testament believers, the twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles signify that the New Testament believers are the constituents of the holy city.
4. “It had...twelve gates, and at the gates...names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel” (Rev. 21:12).
Since the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel represent all the redeemed Old Testament saints, the twelve gates bearing the names of the twelve tribes signify that the Old Testament saints are also the constituents of the holy city. The holy city, New Jerusalem, is composed of all of God’s redeemed people from the Old Testament and the New Testament times to be God’s eternal dwelling place.
5. “The city was pure gold, like clear glass...And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Rev. 21:18, 21).
Pure gold like clear glass signifies God’s pure nature, which is the city’s element.
6. “The twelve gates were twelve pearls” (Rev. 21:21).
Pearls signify the Son’s overcoming death and life-imparting resurrection, through which entrance to the city is gained. This means that only those in Christ’s new creation can participate in (enter into) the New Jerusalem.
7. “Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal”; “Its wall was jasper”; “The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone” (Rev. 21:11, 18-19).
Precious stones signify that the saints have been transformed through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to be the material for God’s building (Rom. 15:16; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Pet. 2:4-5). Gold, pearls, and precious stones signify that the New Jerusalem is constituted with the element of the Triune God and accomplished by His threefold work.
8. “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev. 21:22).
The absence of a temple in the holy city signifies that the entire holy city is the temple of God. The city is the temple, the mutual dwelling place of God and His redeemed, regenerated, and transformed people. God dwells within His redeemed, regenerated, and transformed people, and they dwell in God. This is a mysterious union.
9. “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it” (Rev. 22:3).
The throne of God and of the Lamb at the center of the holy city signifies that God’s authority, the governance of His eternal kingdom, is the central feature of the holy city.
10. “He showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life,...yielding its fruit each month” (Rev. 22:1-2).
The holy city is like a mountain with the throne of God at the top. There is only one street in the city that spirals downward, reaching the twelve gates of the city on the north, south, east, and west. In the middle of this street the river of water of life flows, and in the river the tree of life grows like a vine along the two banks of the river, yielding its fruit each month. This signifies that the life of the Triune God will eternally flow out as living water and produce fruit as food to supply the entire city, which is the redeemed people of God. God’s life is the “street” for communication within the city, going from the throne of God to the gates of the city and from the gates of the city to the throne of God.
11. “The city has no need of the sun or of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb”; “And night will be no more; and they have no need of the light of a lamp and of the light of the sun” (Rev. 21:23; 22:5).
The Triune God is not only the life of the holy city but also the light and the glory of the holy city as her expression.
12. “Enter into it...only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev. 21:27).
Only those who believe in Christ will be part of the holy city (enter into it). The New Jerusalem will be an eternal, divine blessing for those joined to the Triune God by believing in Christ.