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The Splendor of the City

John's mind must have been ready to explode as he continued to absorb the vision of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:15-21). The city had come to rest on the new earth, and he saw an angel measuring the city, and the measurements were mind boggling. The city was either a cube or a pyramid with sides of almost 1400 miles/2,221 km, and it had a wall over 200 ft./65 m thick. And he tells us “the wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass” (v. 18).

John goes on to explain that the foundations of the city were made of precious stones, each gate was a single pearl, and the great central street, like the rest of the city, was gold so pure it was transparent. Whether you take this description to be literal or figurative, it is spectacular. The city is more than impressive, and John has so far given us only the materials and measurements. 

When Jesus said to his disciples in John 14:2, “I am going to prepare a place for you,” is this what he was speaking of? He must have had in mind this city he was now revealing to John at a later time. What John is describing here is, of course, a vision; and the imagery is mixed. This is at the same time the city and the bride. It is a place and a people. He will go on to describe the features of the city, and it is obviously a place expected to be inhabited; but at the same time it is the bride, the people of God, who are the inhabitants (vs. 1-2).  

Adam and Eve were put in a garden, and their mandate was to subdue the earth (Gen. 1:28). They were to learn what resources they had been given and how to use them for their comfort and their good. This meant they would not only be planting, but exploring, building, and manufacturing. Mankind would eventually take the resources God had provided and build houses and shops and factories and roads and bridges. They would develop arts and crafts and science and technology. By these means they would subdue the earth. There would still be gardens, fields, forests, and lakes; but there would also be towns and cities. And this city is the ideal for all that. Are you looking forward to the coming city?

Prayer: Lord, help me to look forward more and more to the day I will be with you. Help me to see clearly the future you have prepared for your disciples. Give me real hope and anticipation. And may I live day by day here with that in view.