New Jerusalem's Majestic Walls

Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

(Revelation 21:12-18)

Another aspect of the city, which was shown to the apostle John, is the wall that surrounds the city. The height of the wall as described in the above passage is approximately seventy metres high. To put that number into some sort of perspective, seventy meters is equivalent in height to a building of twenty stories. Another comparative that we can do, is to the Western Wall in present day Jerusalem. That wall is 19 meters high. And so, the wall surrounding the New Jerusalem will be almost four times that height. No wonder, when John stood before that wall, that he described it as a great and high wall. This passage also reveals to us that the wall is made from jasper. Jasper is a gemstone that is normally red in colour. This passage refers to the wall as being constructed. And so, we see that the wall will be constructed from sizeable jasper gemstones, and that the wall will more than likely be red in colour. So why does the wall have to be so high? On this point we can only speculate. If one were to stand at a distance outside the city, because of the city wall’s height, one would only be able to see the throne of God, which will be substantially higher than the wall itself.

Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

(Revelation 21:14-20)

Regarding the wall, the above passage also describes its foundation for us. In this passage we learn that there are in fact twelve foundations and not just one. And each foundation has the name of one of the apostles of the Lamb, inscribed on it. The names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Matthias who replaced Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed our Lord Jesus (Matthew 10:2-4 & Acts 1:26). Each foundation is constructed from a different type of precious stone, and they are built as one layer upon another. The lowest layer, being the foundation with Peter’s name inscribed on it, which is why our Lord said to Peter that he was the rock upon which Jesus would build His church (Matthew 16:18). The ground above these foundations will be transparent, which is why John could see, and we too will be able to see, each foundation and each name inscribed there for all eternity.

Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. … The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass…. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

(Revelation 21:12-25)

Also regarding the wall, the above passage describes its gates for us. In this passage we learn that there are twelve gates, with three gates on each side of the city. And so, because each side of the city will be 2400 kilometres long, each gate will be located at 600 kilometre intervals in the wall. That is a huge distance between each gate. We are told that each gate is made from one pearl. Each gate will also be seventy metres high, but we can only speculate on its width. Nevertheless, as we have seen when discussing the width of the street of the city, it is more than likely that the width of the gate will not be any less than its height. Nevertheless, that will still be a giant pearl. And then we are told, that the names of the twelve tribes of Israel will be inscribed on each gate. We are also told in this passage, that an angel will be stationed at each gate. But at the same time, we are told that the gates will never be closed. For the passage says that the gates will not be shut at all by day and that there will be no night there, which in effect means that the gates will never be closed. So why will it be necessary for an angel to be stationed at each gate then? Again on this point we can only speculate, but it may be to ensure that only those sanctioned by God are allowed to enter there.

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

(Revelation 7:13-17)

One of the aspects about the New Jerusalem, which will make it completely different from the rest of the earth, is its perfect environment. In the above passage of scripture, one of the elders informs us that God will not allow His saints to experience the heat of the sun. By implication, God will also not allow His saints to experience any cold either. God will do that by placing His glory cloud over the entire city. The cloud will cover the city by day and His cloud of fire will cover the city by night. In other words, God will do exactly the same thing that He will do for the saints during our Lord’s millennial reign. For during our Lord’s reign, the Holy Spirit informs us that God will create a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night, as a covering for the assemblies of the saints (Isaiah 4:5-6). And so, whereas the rest of the earth will experience the heat of the sun, the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem will not.

Michael E.B. Maher

The End of the Age

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