v.9-11 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
What I find compelling about this passage is the implication that God is so delighted in His people that He relocates John so he can behold the beautiful city He has prepared for them (all true believers) to one day dwell with Him.
I find this relocation of John very intriguing. Rather than leaving him in heaven to watch her descend toward earth, God instead, has a significant angel usher John to an unobstructed place to watch her in full view descend to earth. It’s like a bridegroom that would have you stand alongside him to behold in full view the beauty and majesty of his bride as she makes her descent down the aisle.
“And her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” As one commentator suggests, if you can picture a diamond the size of the moon with a light as bright as the sun resonating inside of it, you get the idea of what John beheld. New Jerusalem not only resonates with the brilliant light of God Himself, but the light in turn is refracted through the precious metals of the massive structure into an array of dazzling colored beams of light.
Since there is no mention of heaven landing on earth, it is commonly accepted that this brilliant and radiant city will suspend over earth
v.12-14 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The walls, gates, and foundations leave no doubt that New Jerusalem is a literal city made of solid materials. It’s not an apparition, a figment of ones imagination, backroom folklore, or taught simply because it sounds good. John is our witness, dear ones: New Jerusalem is a real city.
On each of the twelve gates are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and on each of the twelve foundations are the names of the twelve apostles (probably as a memorial to the work of God through man). The twelve tribes of Israel faithfully preserved and delivered His Law and His words through the prophets, and the twelve Apostles delivered the words and works of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The walls and the gates of New Jerusalem are symbolic, and meant only to signify the city’s eternal security, safety, and well-being. There will be no need for fortification against any enemy in New Jerusalem (v.21).