A few years ago I was asked to do a teaching for a small bible study group. I’ve been a part of that group for about 8 years or so. Now, we had spent quite some time on the topic of sin. Now I have no problem with an in-depth study on sin – its a topic that the church has ignored to the detriment of the church and society.

But as a bible study, we just needed to change the subject for awhile. So I decided to do a study on heaven. Now the bible does say for believers to set their minds on the things above and not on the things of the world (Col 3:1-3).

In researching the topic in preparation for the teaching, I found my way to the final chapters of Revelation which is really descriptive of what I call the “Final Reality”. What I found was a description of the Kingdom of God. Not heaven, the Kingdom of God. This short study on heaven turned into a study on God’s Kingdom with focus on the Holy City. Now this was the most amazing thing I have ever read – fantastic. And yet, I could not recall ever having a teaching on the Holy City or the fullness of God’s Kingdom. This is our future as believers and I knew little about it – and its the most incredible thing.

Why is the church not teaching us about this? We get some sort of vague notion of heaven as where we will go when we die – and that’s great – but there isn’t much description about what that means.

When someone shared the gospel with me many years ago, I accepted the free gift of eternal life and it was explained to me that God has a wonderful plan for me. There were no details given me about this plan or about God’s Kingdom as the ultimate reality – a believers inheritance in Christ. In my own training in evangelism, it was the same. No details to share about the Kingdom of God. The focus is on eternal life, heaven, and forgiveness – all great things. But it is the gospel of the Kingdom. What is this Kingdom? Never taught, never explained in church. Unfortunate. So I have begun to research it on my own and to write about it here.

Here is one of the first interesting facts I have learned: final reality for a believer in Jesus Christ is not heaven – it is God’s Kingdom. He is the King of kings.

There is the other side of this final reality which is incredibly important, but also a dormant teaching in the church. Its a horrible fate for people who reject the gospel, reject God, and refuse to repent. It is also for the evil spiritual entities that oppose the one, true God. Its called the lake of fire. This is different than Hell. Hell is real, but it is temporary. The lake of fire, I believe, is not the same reality as hell. Teaching in the church on both topics, at least in my experience, is almost nonexistent.

So here we go…

Let’s start with the centerpiece of God’s kingdom: the Holy City, New Jerusalem. This magnificent city is described in detail in Revelation 21:9-22:5. The city is not allegory or metaphor. It is real. Revelation 21:9-10 says the angel showed John the city. He saw it with his own eyes so what is described in this passage about the holy city is based on eye witness testimony. There is more detail about the Holy City in this passage than about heaven everywhere else in scripture. I believe its real because it is a prophecy about the future. Understand this about biblical prophecy: it is always, always, always fulfilled literally – exactly as described to the tiniest detail.

Jesus said that he was going to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-4). I think this is what he may have been talking about – the Holy City. Maybe the greatest construction project in the history of the universe? Just some speculation.

Anyway, here are some facts about the city taken from the passage in Revelation:

1. The city comes down out of heaven from God.
2. It has the glory of God with a brilliance like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.
3. It has a great and high wall, with twelve gates.
4. The gates have twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There are three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. And the twelve gates are twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl.
5. The street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
6. The wall of the city has twelve foundation stones, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The foundation stones of the city wall are adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone is jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.
7. The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.
8. The wall is seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.
9. The material of the wall is jasper.
10. The city is pure gold, like clear glass.
11. John saw no temple because the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
12. The city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God illumines it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
13. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
14. There will be no night there.
15. Its gates will never be closed.
16. The kings of the earth will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
17. Nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Who will be permitted within the gates of the city? Rev 21:7 gives us the answer.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Revelation 21:7

(Now, of course, the Greek word translated “son” has a very broad meaning that is inclusive of male and female.)

I am a Mechanical Engineer, so I do get a little analytical when numbers are presented. Some here are some rough figures I came up with regarding item 7 above which indicates a measurement of 1500 miles for the dimensions of the city. The Greek word translated “stadia” is probably not a mile but more likely 600 feet, so if we go with 600 feet and do some basic area calculations, knowing that the city length and width dimensions are equal, we come up with an area of 29,055 square miles. This is close to the size of South Carolina, or almost three times the size of the current nation of Israel.

The passage also says the height of the city is of equal dimension as its length and width. So we have indication of a multi dimensional city, not as we think of a city in terms of just its area coverage. Imagine such an immense city. Never has there been anything on earth that even begins to compare with a city on this scale.

The description of the city is detailed and specific just as all prophecies are. Fantastic! If you are a believer, a saint of the most high God, then this is your future home. If you are not yet a believer, this can be your home as well. But you must first repent on God’s terms and place your complete trust in Christ, otherwise you fall into the category of those described in item 17.

The only way to have your name in the Lamb’s book of life is to believe the gospel. Please, I urge you to read the page on this site entitled Steps to Eternal Life. More about the city in my next post.