Revelation 21 presents a stunning vision, not merely of heaven itself, but of the Bride—the Lamb’s wife. This passage unfolds the beauty, security, and glory of God’s redeemed people, the Church, as she is revealed in her present sanctification and future consummation.
John first sees the city descending from heaven. She does not originate from the earth, nor is she built by human effort. Her entire existence is the work of divine grace. “I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2, BSB). This is a people formed by the will of God, chosen and shaped by His mercy. It reminds us that we are wholly dependent upon grace, debtors to divine kindness.
As John gazes upon the city, his first impression is one of unspeakable beauty. “Having the glory of God, her radiance was like a most precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal” (Revelation 21:11, BSB). Here, the Church is seen as she truly is—clothed in the righteousness of Christ, a reflection of His divine beauty. On earth, we often struggle to perceive the grandeur of the Church, marred as she seems by her imperfections. Yet Christ sees His Bride as she will be, purified and radiant in His glory.
Surrounding the city is a great wall with twelve gates, each attended by an angel. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are inscribed upon the gates, while the foundation stones bear the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:12-14). This imagery speaks volumes about the Church’s identity. She is secure, kept by the power of God. The walls stand as a testament to the unshakable promise that the Church will endure, for her Lord has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5, BSB). No force of hell can prevail against her, for Christ has declared, “On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18, BSB).
These gates also proclaim the purity of the city. Just as the cherubim guarded Eden’s entrance after the Fall, ensuring that nothing defiled could enter (Genesis 3:24), so too, “Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27, BSB). The Church is set apart, called to holiness, a place where sin will never again intrude.
At the same time, the gates stand open to welcome the redeemed from every nation. Facing in every direction, they remind us of Christ’s command to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15, BSB). The nations will bring their glory into the city, their people gathered from the four corners of the earth, a harvest of souls redeemed by the Lamb (Revelation 21:25-26, BSB). And what are these gates made of? Enormous pearls—each one a single, radiant pearl. The only other New Testament mention of pearls in such a manner is Jesus’ parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:46). Christ Himself is that pearl, of immeasurable worth, the only way by which anyone may enter the city (John 14:6).
The foundation of the city is built upon the apostles, whose witness to Christ forms the Church’s bedrock (Ephesians 2:20-22). Just as the city is measured and found to be a perfect cube (Revelation 21:16), its form echoes the Holy of Holies, the very dwelling place of God. The veil has been torn; there is no more separation. God and His people dwell together, and the glory of His presence fills the city itself. The Church is not only the Bride, but the very dwelling place of God, a temple not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens (2 Corinthians 5:1).
The walls shine with every kind of precious stone. These stones are not lifeless gems, but living stones, believers who have been chosen, shaped, and refined by trials to fit their appointed place (1 Peter 2:5). Each stone reflects the light of God’s glory, a testimony to His transforming work. As Paul writes, “We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18, BSB). The trials of this present life are momentary afflictions, producing for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17).
How do we, the Church, see ourselves today? Do we recognize our security in Christ? Do we grasp the beauty that He sees in us? Are we living as those purified and set apart for Him? This vision of the Bride is not merely for some distant future—it is our reality even now. Christ is preparing His Bride, shaping her into the city of God, a radiant testimony to His grace. Let us, then, live as those who belong to Him, reflecting His glory in this present age, until the day we see Him face to face.
Because God Is Trinity, God Is Love.
Love is the eternal glorious communion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without beginning, unchanging, and unchangeable. God’s love is purity defined. If we don’t see God’s core nature as being love, and all His relational attributes and everything in His relationship with all creation flowing from His Divine Love, then we fall far deficient in our understanding of God.
It is sad to hear so many speak of His love as contrasting or being distinct from such things as His justice and wrath, when these are an absolutely necessary extension of Divine Love. Sin in all its forms is a reprehensible strike against love and must be justly dealt with if love is to remain and God’s nature unchanged.
God in His love provides a way for Him to remain just and yet fully justify the ungodly! Through Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Father became one of us, but without sin, that He might, on the cross, both satisfy love’s demand for justice—wrath against love-defiling sin—and demonstrate His overflowing love toward sinners.
Ed Ross
Learn Christ 