Revelation 21:9-17

(b) The Measuring of the City.

Revelation 21:9. seven bowls: cf. ch. 16.

Revelation 21:10. to a mountain: as in Ezekiel 40:2.

Revelation 21:11. jasper stone clear as crystal: possibly the stone indicated is a diamond or opal (Revelation 4:3 *).

Revelation 21:12. twelve gates: cf. the description in Ezekiel 48:31 ff.

Revelation 21:14. twelve apostles: cf. Ephesians 2:20, built on the foundation of the apostles; but it is not stated here that the apostles constituted the foundations, but that the names of the apostles were inscribed on the foundations.

Revelation 21:15. Cf. Ezekiel 40:3 and Revelation 11:2, where, however, the city is destined to destruction, the Temple and altar being measured for preservation.

Revelation 21:16. The city is not merely a square, but a perfect cube, length, breadth, and height being equal. 12, 000 furlongs: lit. stadia, i.e. nearly 1500 English miles. This figure might be intelligible when applied to the length and breadth, but when applied to height it becomes inconceivable. Such dimensions defy imagination and are permissible only in the language of symbolism (Swete).

Revelation 21:17. 144 cubits: about 216 feet. If this figure refers to the height of the wall, it seems out of all proportion to the height of the city, which was over 7, 000, 000 feet high. The wall and the city, therefore, do not correspond, and this is another indication that the figures are not to be taken literally.