seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Revelation 21:9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
I would suggest you use this "link" to read the rest of the commentary.He measured the city with the reed: The size of the New Jerusalem is enormous; twelve thousand furlongs equals 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers). This is the same distance from Maine to Florida; the square footage would approximate the size of the moon.
“A city of this size is too large for the imagination to take in. John is certainly conveying the idea of splendour. And, more importantly, that of room for all.” (L. Morris)
Henry Morris, guessing that there will have been 100 billion people in the human race through history, and that 20% of them will be saved, calculated that each person would have a “block” with about 75 acres on each face to call their own. This is highly speculative, but illustrates the point that there is plenty of room in the New Jerusalem.
Like clear glass… like transparent glass: “The constant mention of transparency indicates that the city is designed to transmit the glory of God in the form of light without hindrance.” (Walvoord)
If the dimensions and descriptions seem confusing or impossible, there are two main principles to keep in mind. First, we must understand the ideas communicated in the details (glory, beauty, splendor, and so forth). Second, we must understand that this is the city whose architect and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10). We should expect it to be beyond our comprehension.
But I saw no temple in it: In the ancient world, it was unthinkable to have a great city without many different temples. It’s like saying today, “I saw a great city but I saw no bank in it” or “I saw a great city but I saw no shopping mall in it.” Nevertheless, in this city there was no temple in it.
Good morning.... I don't know about you... but all this talk about the Bride of Christ being the church just confuses "the fire out of me". Maybe it's supposed to, come to think of it. I mean, if I get to the part where God, or Jesus, asks "Do you have any questions?", and I ask "What is all this about the Bride of Christ being the church?", at least they'll be reminded that I have tried to understand, I read the book. And that might just pull the last of the "fire" out of me, and I'll be cleaned up and spiffy.
I don't think we worry about having our clothes on in Heaven. Everything is transparent as glass. Where would we change? Come to think of it... I wonder if we will go potty. There's no privacy? I bet there's no need to worry about it... everyone will be doing their business the same way... So, it will be normal.
Did you see the part about the acreage? 75 acres!!!! Maybe that's why we won't need privacy. We'll have to travel to get to the next neighbor. I bet we'll fly. We won't have the weight of the world to hold us down anymore.
Since the city "comes down" from Heaven, I've heard questions about the possibility the New Jerusalem is a space craft. It lights on a mountain top. It emits light just like the "spacecraft" in our Sci-Fi inspired imagination.
Then again, if man can imagine it, couldn't God build it better?
I guess we won't need any sleep. After all, there is no night.
I guess we won't need to keep watch on the days of the week. We won't need to work to the Sabbath and get all spiffy to go to church. Church will be 24/7 living in God's world. We'll just be in worship all the time! What a great world!
Oh... and I figure there WILL be beer in Heaven. After all, there will be humans who enjoy making it most of all. So, it will be made by the best, with the best, and it will taste the best. I also think there will be the best food in Heaven. After all there will be some of the best chefs there.
We won't go to Heaven.
Heaven will come to us!!!
