An angel appears, one who had one of the bowls of wrath, and shows John the bride who is the wife of the Lamb. Keeping in mind that the bride is the church. The angel takes John, in the Spirit, where he sees the city descengin from heaven. The city has the glory of God and radiates, which its crazy that I would be blogging about this passage today because we learned today in Hebrews that Jesus radiates God. Hebrews 1:3 "He is the radiance of the glory of God." We know that we are supposed immitate Christ and as such radiate God's glory. Luckily, or um... blessedly? one day we will as promised in this passage.
Now the city had twelve angels and twelve walls and twelve foundations and such, and on these things were the names of the tribes and the apostles of the Lamb. Now the angels show the protection of the city, no evil will enter it. The apostles and tribes represent the unity of those adopted both in the OT and NT. The city is measured out and measurements are all divisible by 12, which may lead one to believe that these measurements are symbolic. It is noticed that there is no temple, probably because the entire city is the temple, which is God's presence. Interesting fact, the measurement of the city is cubic, which is the same shape as the Holy of Holies in the OT. And then as if to throw the prostitutes adornings in her sinful face, the city is described with 12 jewels, representing the invaluable beauty of this city that is graced with God's presence. These 12 jewels correspond to those on the OT priest's ephod.
Lastly, the city has no sun or moon because it's light come from God. The gates are never closed because there is no night, and there are no enemies to attack. Only those whose names are written in the book of life will enter.
Things I realize: I remember when I read this... um.... almost a week ago that I was very interested in what heaven would be like. I've wondered for a long time for sure, but since understanding the gospel, I stopped caring. I just trust that it's somewhere I want to be. Despite the trust, I don't know if thats really the best way to look at heaven, but maybe it's good to know that I will be in God's presence and He will literally be the light of my world and I will never worry about terrorists or dictators or missles or stepping in gum or killing spiders or car accidents or anything. This passage promises protection, and as strong and safe and secure as I think I am, there is nothing close to 100% protection in this world and thats something I'll have to deal with until I enter that new jerusalem. Exciting huh! ^^
good night
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