This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 15: Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23.

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The previous post intoduced us to Mount Zion, which stands in contrast with Mount Sinai. In this post, we note several key features of this heavenly city, also known as New Jerusalem. 

New Jerusalem is a holy city (Rev. 21:2, 10)

Humans have built many great cities over the centuries, from ancient Babylon to modern-day Tokyo. But New Jerusalem is unique in that it is a city built without hands. The writer of Hebrews tells us Abraham saw New Jerusalem from afar. He may have lived in tents as a foreigner in the Promised Land, but “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). 

New Jerusalem is a holy city because it is the city of God. It is his home, and he invites us to live there forever with him. It is a holy place because God is holy – set apart, unique, perfect, and righteous. God’s otherness sets him apart from all creatures. He is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, unchanging, and transcendent. Wherever God visits creation, that place is holy ground, as Moses and Joshua experienced (Exod. 3:5; Josh. 5:15). 

In our future resurrection and glorification, we’re fully conformed to the image of Christ. That is, we are perfected in body, soul, and spirit, prepared to take up everlasting residence in the holy city.

New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God (Rev. 21:2, 10)

The heavenly city comes down out of heaven because God’s throne sits above and beyond the created order. It comes down because God is higher and holier than those created in his image. It comes down because God is restoring Eden, the intersection of the physical and spiritual realms. It comes down because God is gracious, merciful, and kind. 

The Lord performs all the work of creation, redemption, and restoration. He condescends to bring heaven down to earth for his glory and our everlasting enjoyment.

New Jerusalem is the bride, the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 21:2, 9)

Old Testament writers sometimes liken Israel to the Lord’s wife. Yahweh refers to himself as Israel’s husband to communicate his special love for the nation. For example, Isaiah says to Judah, “Indeed, your husband is your Maker – his name is the LORD of Armies – and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of the whole earth” (Isa. 54:5). 

In the New Testament, Christ is the bridegroom and the church is his bride. Jesus makes this clear in his teaching and parables (e.g., Matt. 9:15; 22:1-14; 25:1-13). Paul further touches on this truth: “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband – to present a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2).

Some commentators believe “true Israel,” a single body of Old and New Covenant saints, constitutes New Jerusalem, and therefore we are to read Revelation 21 symbolically. Proponents of this view cite 1 Corinthians 3:16, in which Paul reminds us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Peter also describes Christians as living stones, being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices unto God, with Jesus as the chosen and honored cornerstone (1 Pet. 2:4-6).

So, it’s possible that glorified saints of all time provide the perfect habitation for Christ as he descends to earth and dwells among his people. Just as a bridegroom leaves his father’s home and establishes a new home with his bride, Jesus one day descends from heaven to earth with the redeemed and fully installs his kingdom on earth, with God’s people providing a pure and everlasting habitation for their Savior.

With all that Scripture says about New Jerusalem, it seems best to understand the city both as a literal metropolis and as a reference to the people of God. As Alan Gomes points out:

So, the NJ [New Jerusalem] refers to the people in [Rev.] 21:9-10, when the angel shows John the NJ as a bride. But it is a place in 21:3, which speaks of God as dwelling there; in 21:24, 26, when people “inherit” it; and in 21:24, 26, when the text describes the nations as entering it [emphasis added].

New Jerusalem is arrayed with God’s glory (Rev. 21:11)

John writes of the heavenly city, “Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal” (21:11). The most significant quality of New Jerusalem is stated at the outset: it is the radiance of God, the sign of his visible presence. 

In Revelation 4:2-3, John sees a throne set in heaven. The one seated on the throne looks like a jasper and carnelian stone. And now, in Revelation 21:11, the bride has a similar radiance. What could be more perfect than the glory of God shining through his people? 

New Jerusalem is a vast cube-shaped structure in which the number twelve plays a prominent role (Rev. 21:12-21)

In these verses, John describes the exterior of New Jerusalem, turning to the interior in verses 22-27. The city is laid out in a cube. Its length, width, and height are 12,000 stadia, or about 1,400 miles, in each direction. The wall surrounding the city is 144 cubits, or more than two hundred feet, thick. 

Bible commentators are divided as to whether these dimensions are to be understood literally or figuratively. Either way, it’s important to note the cube shape of the city, which corresponds to the holy of holies in the temple. Since John sees no temple in the city (Rev. 21:22), we may infer that the whole city is the temple – specifically, the true holy of holies, where the triune Godhead resides in undiminished glory. 

Just as our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit now (1 Cor. 3:16), New Jerusalem – the bride of the Lamb – is corporately the spiritual household built up for God’s habitation with redeemed people (see Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6; 1 Pet. 2:4-5).

The ancient cities of Babylon and Nineveh were designed in the shape of a square. They had substantial length and width but lacked equivalent height. But the city of God surpasses these human endeavors in its harmony, being cube-shaped, which in the ancient world symbolized supreme completeness. The immensity of New Jerusalem dwarfs the greatest man-made cities of human history. 

The number twelve figures prominently in John’s description of the city. The walls have twelve gates. Twelve angels are at the gates. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are inscribed on the gates. The city has twelve foundations, bearing the names of the twelve apostles. New Jerusalem measures 12,000 stadia in length, width, and height. The walls are 144 cubits thick – twelve by twelve cubits. And the gates consist of twelve massive pearls. So, what’s the significance of the number twelve?

The number twelve appears 187 times in God’s Word, twenty-two times in the book of Revelation. It’s considered a perfect number in that it symbolizes God’s authority. The number twelve also depicts completeness, or the nation of Israel as a whole. For example, Jacob (Israel) has twelve sons who father the twelve tribes of the nation. This is important because if New Jerusalem in fact comprises the whole people of God under the Old and New Covenants, then we have in this heavenly city the true Israel to which the New Testament writers point.

In Revelation 7, we see 144,000 (12 x 12 x 1000) sealed servants of God, and in Revelation 14, these same servants appear on the heavenly Mount Zion with the Lamb. Other examples could be cited, but the point is that the Lord uses this number throughout the Bible to indicate perfection, completeness, and authority. 

So, the extensive use of the number twelve in Revelation 21 seems to illustrate that New Jerusalem represents true Israel, or the redeemed people of God throughout human history. The redeemed form a massive holy of holies for God, whose radiance shines through them. This stands in contrast with the ancient tabernacle and temple, where the Shekinah glory, depicting the presence of God, is confined to the innermost sanctuary and rarely seen by his people. 

Next: Key Features of New Jerusalem – Part 2