The city of New Jerusalem is built with treasures. It is built with three kinds of precious materials, signifying the building by the Triune God. Firstly, the city proper with its street is of gold (vv. 18, 21). Gold, the symbol of the divine nature of God, signifies the Father as the source, producing the element for the substantial existence of the city. Secondly, the twelve gates of the city are pearls, which signify the Son’s overcoming death and life-imparting resurrection, through which entrance to the city is gained. Thirdly, the wall of the city and its foundation are built of precious stones. This signifies the Spirit’s work of transforming the redeemed and regenerated saints into precious stones for the building of God’s eternal habitation that they may express God corporately in His permeating glory. In the garden of Eden these three kinds of treasures were merely materials (Gen. 2:11-12), whereas in the city of New Jerusalem these precious materials are built up for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, His corporate expression.
The New Jerusalem is a mountain of gold. As a golden mountain, New Jerusalem is the ultimate, unique, and eternal golden lampstand. In typology gold signifies the divine nature. Therefore, this city is absolutely composed of God’s divine nature. This gold is pure and transparent. If we see the vision of the New Jerusalem built with God’s divine nature, we shall renounce everything that does not belong to God’s nature and reject anything that does not match it. The church today must also be built with God’s nature, not with brick, clay, or wood.
In verses 19 and 20 we see that the foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with precious stones. This indicates that the twelve apostles have been transformed into precious stones to be the twelve layers of the foundation of the city.
Verse 18 says, “And the building material of its wall was jasper.” Jasper is the appearance of God (4:3). Hence, the jasper wall signifies that the whole city, as the corporate expression of God in eternity, bears the appearance of God. When we are in New Jerusalem, we shall marvel to see that the whole city has the same appearance, the appearance of jasper. This means that we all must speak the same thing, express the same thing, and have the same appearance. Today’s Christianity, however, is much different, for there everyone has his own color and his own opinion and speaks his own mind. But New Jerusalem has one appearance, one expression, and one color.
Verse 21 says, “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was, respectively, of one pearl.” Thus, even the gates of the city are built with treasures.