Revelation Chapter 21 Verses 10-14

10 And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare Jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed; 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

This beautiful chapter parallels Ezekiel 40 in many of its descriptions of the church. For example, Ezekiel’s vision of the temple in Ezekiel 40 also takes place while Ezekiel is on a high mountain.

In verse 10, John sees the holy city coming down from Heaven. As we discussed, the holy city is pictured coming down from Heaven because a new Rome-free world has been created in which it may dwell.

Verse 11 tells us that this city has the glory of God. That is true because the church of Christ is the body of Christ, and Christ as Hebrews 1:3 tells us is “the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” The city is the church of Christ!

This city has 12 gates guarded by 12 angels with the names of 12 tribes inscribed on each gate. The wall had 12 foundations with the names of the 12 apostles inscribed on each. (How can anyone read that description of this city and not understand that numbers are used symbolically in this book?) Twelve is the number of God’s people, and this city is the dwelling place of God’s people. Ephesians 2:20 says that the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. The city of God described here is the church of Christ.

And so far we have not seen a single description of that city of God that does not apply to the church right here and right now just as it applied to the church in John’s day.

Where in the Bible is the most beautiful description of the Lord’s church? Is it in Daniel 2, where we read about the eternal kingdom that sweeps away the kingdoms of the earth? Is it in Isaiah 2, where we read about the house of God established on the mountains to which all nations are drawn? Is it in Joel 2, where the establishment of the church is described as the great and awesome day of the Lord? Is it in Ezekiel 40, where the church is described as a huge temple constructed according to the pattern of God? Is it in Matthew 13, where Jesus gave us the parables of the kingdom? Is it in Matthew 16, where Jesus promised to build his church? is it in Acts 2, where we read a firsthand account of the church’s establishment? Is it in Ephesians 5, where Paul beautifully describes Jesus’ love for his church as a husband’s love for his bride? Is it in Hebrews 12, where the church is described as the city of the living God?

Each of these is beautiful, but none of these would be my choice for the most beautiful description of the church. Instead, I would turn immediately to the concluding two chapters of Revelation that we are now studying. In my opinion, those two chapters contain the most beautiful description of the Lord’s church found anywhere in the Scriptures.

As we mentioned last week, the Old Testament ends with a curse in Malachi 4:6. The New Testament by contrast ends with a beautiful description of the Lord’s church, the holy city of God in which God is at last able to once again dwell with men as he did in the Garden before the Fall. The final chapters of Revelation are the perfect ending to the story of reconciliation that began with the opening chapters of Genesis.

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