Revelation Now :
Daily Devotional Bible Studies in Revelation
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Measuring the New Jerusalem : Day 79 
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 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. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. " (Revelation 21:15-21)
John takes his picture of the man with the measuring rod from Ezekiel 40:3.
Four Square City
The city's shape was four-square. It was common enough for cities to be built in the form of a square; both Babylon and Nineveh were like that. But the holy city was not only square; it was in the form of a perfect cube. The length, breadth and height were the same. This is significant. The cube was the symbol of perfection. Both Plato and Aristotle refer to the fact that in Greece the good man was called "four-square" (Plato, Protagoras 339 B; Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1.10.11; Rhetoric 3.11).
The Jewish altar of the burnt offering, the altar of the incense, and the High Priest's breastplate were all in the form of a cube (Exodus 27:1; 30:2; 28:16). Again and again this shape occurs in Ezekiel's visions of the new Jerusalem and the new temple (Ezekiel 41:21; 43:16; 45:2; 48:20). But most important of all, in Solomon's temple the Holy of Holies was a perfect cube (1 Kings 6:20).
John intends us to see that the whole of the holy city is the Holy of Holies, the dwelling-place of God.
Each side of the city was twelve thousand "stades". A "stade" was nearly 1,500 miles long, and the total area of the city was 2,250,000 square miles. The rabbinic dreams of the re-created Jerusalem were vast enough. It was said that it would reach to Damascus and would cover the whole of Palestine. But a city with that area would stretch nearly from London to New York. We are meant to see that in the holy city there is room for everyone. None of those who believe will be shut out.
Strangely enough it is different when we come to the wall. The wall is 144 cubits high, that is, 266 feet, not very high, by modern standards. The wall of Babylon was 300 feet high, and the walls of the porch of Solomon's temple were 180 feet high. There is no comparison between the height of the wall and the size of the city. Again there is symbolism here. The wall cannot be for defence, for all hostile beings, spiritual and human, have been obliterated or cast into the lake of fire. God is much more eager to bring people in than to shut them out, and his Church must be the same.
The City's Measurements
The city's measurements describe a place that will hold all God's people and will be perfect for them. The city's measurements are all multiples of 12, the number for God's people. There were 12 tribes in Israel, and 12 apostles who started the church. The walls are 144 (12 x 12) cubits (200 feet) thick. There are 12 layers in the walls, and 12 gates in the city. The new Jerusalem is shaped like a gigantic cube, a symbol of perfection and the same shape as the Most Holy Place in the temple. The standard unit of measurement the angel used was literally, "by a human measure, i.e., an angel's."
Walls of Precious Stones
The sight of walls made of precious stones reveals that the new Jerusalem will be a place of purity and durability and will last forever. The gold and precious gems symbolize the beauty and excellence of the church. The temple, the centre of God's presence on earth, was the primary place of worship. No temple is needed in the new city, however, because God's presence will be everywhere. He will be worshipped throughout the city, and nothing will hinder us from being with him.
Words to meditate on
Imagine the New Jerusalem!
Words to pray
"Holy, holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty Merciful and mighty.
All thy works shall praise thy name, In earth and sky and sea."
Notes
(1) Rev 2:14 (2) Rev 2:20 (3) see http://cantuar.blogspot.com/2008/04/who-were-nicolaitans-and-balaamists-of.html (4) Proverbs 3.18 (5) Proverbs 13.12. (6) Altered to modern convention
"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place."
