Revelation 21:15-21 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.[f] 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.
John is next told to measure the city of the new Jerusalem (verse 15). The city is a large cube. The number of 12000 stadia is symbolic meaning roughly 1400 miles or 2200 kilometers across (10 billion cubic km), which is beyond imagination. It is three dimensional as a cube. Interestingly, the Holy of Holies was also a perfect cube (see 1 Kings 6:20). This is a vast city with perfect symmetry and splendor.
The wall is also magnificent and large (v. 18). It is 144 cubits high (a cubit is the length of an average arm), and made of the purest gold. The foundations are of twelve precious stones representing the tribes. The twelve gates of a huge pearl represent the twelve apostles (see Eph 2:20; Ezek 48:30-34).
What impression does this leave with the reader? This city is beyond imagination and is totally awesome. The treasures of the world are the paving stones of the new Jerusalem. This imagery gives us something to look forward to. It serves to strengthen our hope.
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