Now we’re ready to look at John’s description of the holy city, New Jerusalem. “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues came and said to me, Come with me and I’ll show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife. Then he took me away in the spirit to a vast and high mountain and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:9-10)
Remember, these seven “angels” are redeemed men (Revelation 17:1 with 19:10, and 21:9 with 22:8-9). The statement made here by the angel (messenger) is simple and straightforward, the “bride” and the “Lamb’s wife” is the holy city. I think we’ve talked about this before, but the bride of Christ is not the church. All the redeemed in the Old Testament were promised this city (Hebrews 11:10-16). The early church was promised the city (John 14:1-3; Hebrews 13:14). Every believer is promised the city (Hebrews 12:22-23; Revelation 3:12). The 144,000 Jews are promised a city (Revelation 12:5, 14:1-5). And finally, all the tribulation saints will be there (Revelation 6:9-11; 7:9-17; 15:2-4 and 20:4-6). So, the bride cannot be made up of one particular group of believers, but includes all.
The next issue is this: “then he took me away in the spirit to a vast and high mountain”. Let’s put this in perspective. John is getting ready to describe the holy city, New Jerusalem that has come down from God out of heaven to the new earth (Revelation 21:1-2). Now, before we get to John’s account of what he saw, let’s look at some other references that describe this place before it comes down from heaven, while it is yet in (or, literally, on) the planet heaven.
First, let’s settle this, God’s throne has always been in the same location on heaven from its inception (remember from one of the earliest lessons, “At a fixed point in time God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1). Remember Isaiah 14:12-14 when Lucifer decided he wanted to be equal with God and would “sit also on the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north”. From this we know God’s throne was “on the mount of the congregation”. Compare what David says in Psalm 24:3, “Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His Holy Place?” What about this one? Psalm 48:1 says, “Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised in the city of our God, on His holy mountain!” God was on His throne before Lucifer rebelled and the original earth was overturned. He was still there in His city on His holy mountain in David’s day. Remember what Jesus told His disciples in John 14:1-3. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. I go to prepare a place for you, so where I am, there you may be also.”
Now, consider Hebrews 12:22, “But you have come to Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to a countless multitude of angels in a joyful gathering.” Here’s a mountain, a city and it’s identified as the heavenly Jerusalem. The next verse tells us God is there, as well as the spirits of the righteous (they haven’t received their spirit bodies yet). Paul says in Romans 11:26 that the Deliverer (Christ) will come from Sion at His 2nd coming. He comes from there, because that’s where He has been since His ascension.
So, the city that John sees coming down from God out of heaven is the holy city of God that has always existed on a mountain on heaven. For a more detailed description you can go to Revelation 4-5 and see it as it exists today. What you read there will be the same thing people will see on the eternal earth when they visit the city after it becomes the capital city of the earth.
The second thing we have to settle is what this city looks like. Most people today envision the city as a cube. This is what they conclude from Revelation 21:16, “And the city lies in a square, the length being the same as the width. And he measured the city with his rod and it was 12,000 stadia (about 1500 miles). The length and width and height are the same distance.” It’s not logical to make the city a cube sitting on a vast and high mountain. John doesn’t say the city is a cube, he says it lies in a square and mentions only the length and width in describing that square. Instead, what we have is a city that starts at the base of a huge mountain or series of mountains with successive levels going up to the highest point, where the tabernacle of God is located.
As for the sheer size of the city, it is massive and unlike anything that has ever existed on the earth. When considering the measurements given in this verse it will cover approximately 2/3 the area of the United States by comparison. For a somewhat accurate idea of the city, it will cover an area from Seattle, WA, down to San Diego, CA, across to Shreveport, LA, up to International Falls, MN, and back to Seattle, WA.
Of course the statement found in Revelation 21:16b is astonishing, “The length and width and height are the same distance.” Length and width of that distance we can understand. But to have a city go up the side of a “vast and high” mountain for a distance of 1,500 miles is well beyond anything we can comprehend. At present the earth’s atmosphere is approximately 300 miles thick. But when you get much higher than 10 miles, it is made up mostly of nitrogen and small amounts of other trace gases. If we take John’s stated distances literally (and there’s no reason not to), the new earth will have an atmosphere that differs greatly from the one we know now. Otherwise, how can we justify John’s revelation?
Let’s look at one more thing regarding the general appearance of this very large city. This is Revelation 21:11. “Having the glory of God, the light from it was like a precious stone, jasper, as clear as crystal.” When John saw the city, the first thing he noticed was the colored light coming out of it. According to his description, the light was caused by the presence of the glory of God, and the color was a striking sea green or blue-green. In the next lesson we’ll begin looking at his description of the wall, gates and foundations.