What Revelation 21–22 says explicitly, what it may mean, and where speculation begins
Author
Yona Tree
Published
Reading time
4 min
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
The final two chapters of the Bible describe the eternal home of God with His people. Few passages invite more speculation. This study tries to read slowly and honestly — noting what John actually says before asking what it may mean.
Explicit Scripture
Twelve thousand furlongs is roughly 1,400 miles (about 2,200 kilometres) — and a hundred and forty-four cubits is about 216 feet.
Possible interpretations
Speculation
The Jerusalem above and the New Jerusalem
Scripture speaks of a Jerusalem in heaven now. Paul writes that “Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26), and the letter to the Hebrews says believers have come “unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22). Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
"Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." Paul's allegory of Sarah and Hagar connects the free woman, the heavenly city, and the Spirit who gives believers new birth.
The seven lamps of the Spirit burn before the Father's throne; the seven candlesticks of the Church surround the Son. Yona Tree reads the Bride of Christ as a daughter growing to resemble the Spirit who gave her birth.
The burning bush, the seven-branched menorah and the Tree of Life are, Yona Tree believes, variations on one theme that begins in the first pages of Genesis and ends in the last chapter of Revelation.
