New Jerusalem
REVELATION Number 65
Revelation 21:12–14 gives us a glimpse into the new creation planned for the people of God. In The Revelation it is portrayed as a city, the New Jerusalem, the new City of God.
The text reads, “It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (NASB 2020).
In thinking about this description, we might observe that there are twelve gates and twelve foundations.
At each gate stands an angel, or messenger.
Each gate carries the name of a tribe of Israel.
Similarly, each foundation stone bears the name of an Apostle.
The Gates
In Matthew 15:24, Jesus said that He was sent to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In Romans 1:16, Paul says that the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
These passages help us see that the nation of Israel served to introduce the world to God. This was foretold by the prophets. The Lord speaking through Isaiah said, “I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,” (Isaiah 42:6, NASB 2020)
Israel was the angel, or messenger, and the gate through which the good news of reconciliation and salvation came.
The Lord Jesus was born into the house of Israel and John pointed out that “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.” (John 1:4, NASB 2020) Israel with its twelve tribes served as the gateway to God. Salvation came through them in the form of Jesus Christ born into the tribe of Judah.
The Foundations
Salvation was to the Jews first, but also to the Gentiles. Jesus was appointed as a covenant, a light to the nations. His death and resurrection instituted that covenant, a covenant made in blood. At Pentecost that covenant was fully ratified and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God.
It was the Apostles who spread this good news beyond the confines of Judaism. Paul especially, was tasked with getting the word out to the heathen nations. In 1 Corinthians 3:10, Paul wrote that he had been laying a foundation upon which another would build. The true foundation, of course, is the Lord Jesus, but the fundamental doctrine, the teaching that would be used in the millennia to come, would be laid down by the Apostles.
The twelve Apostles constructed the foundational teaching we find in the historical accounts and letters we call the New Testament.
No wonder then that the Scriptures give us these beautiful thoughts, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by people, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.’ This precious value, then, is for you who believe;” (1 Peter 2:4–7a, NASB 2020)
Saints, we are living stones who comprise the New Jerusalem, the eternal City of God.
That’s the reason Revelation 21:9 records this aspect of the vision given to John.
“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
The messenger invites John to see the bride of Christ. The Church. The account goes on in verse 10 saying, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (NASB 2020).
Do you see it?
Saints, God lives among His people. He lives in us and will never leave. What’s more, we live and move and exist in Him. Each of us, like living stones, form a vital part of the body and bride of Christ. Forever united in one-spirit union. Humanity was invited here through Israel, taught about the meaning of the Truth of Jesus Christ through the Apostles, and built up into a perfect new creation by God Himself.
