Understanding Revelation 21:24–26
Understanding the Bible
This post is part of our Understanding the Bible series—short, clear explanations of common questions, phrases, images, and themes found in Scripture.
The goal is simple: to help you read the Bible more clearly by explaining what the text says, what it meant in its original context, and why it still matters today.
These studies are designed for personal Bible reading, small groups, teaching preparation, or anyone who wants to grow in biblical understanding without needing technical training.
On this page:
- Quick Answer
- Why This Question Matters
- From the Garden to the City
- Is the New Jerusalem a Real City?
- How Big Is the New Jerusalem?
- Is It a Cube or a Pyramid?
- Why Is the City So Large?
- Why Is It Shaped Like the Holy of Holies?
- What Do the Twelve Gates and Foundations Mean?
- Why Are the Gates Never Closed?
- Why Do the Nations Bring Their Glory into the City?
- What We Can Say with Confidence
- What This Means for Us
- The Gospel Connection
- Key Takeaway
Quick Answer
The New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21:9–27 is an enormous city measuring 12,000 stadia—approximately 1,400 to 1,500 miles—in length, width, and height.
Most Bible scholars understand these measurements to describe a perfect cube. Others believe the city may resemble a great mountain or pyramid-like structure. While faithful Christians differ over the city’s exact shape, Revelation’s main emphasis is not architectural.
The New Jerusalem reveals what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Its size shows that God has prepared abundant room for His redeemed people.
Its beauty reflects His glory.
Its gates and foundations proclaim His faithfulness throughout the whole story of redemption.
Its cube-like shape points back to the Most Holy Place, where God’s presence once dwelled behind a curtain.
The New Jerusalem is not impressive merely because of its architecture.
It is glorious because it reveals the completion of God’s plan to dwell forever with His redeemed people.
The Bible begins in a garden where humanity lived in fellowship with God.
It ends in a city where redeemed humanity lives in God’s presence forever.
The New Jerusalem is not heaven’s reward for good people.
It is God’s home prepared for redeemed people.
For a related study about the future of the present creation, see:
Will God Destroy the Earth or Renew It?
Why This Question Matters
When people read Revelation 21, they often become fascinated by the measurements of the New Jerusalem.
How large is it?
Could billions of people live there?
Is it really fifteen hundred miles high?
Is it shaped like a cube?
Or could it resemble a pyramid?
Those are natural questions.
But they are probably not the first questions John intended us to ask.
John does not spend so much time describing the city merely so that we will admire its architecture.
He wants us to understand what God has accomplished.
Every detail points beyond itself.
The measurements.
The walls.
The foundations.
The gates.
The jewels.
The gold.
Together, they reveal the holiness of God, the beauty of redemption, the security of His people, and the permanence of His kingdom.
The city also corrects a common misunderstanding about the Christian future.
The story of the Bible does not end with God’s people permanently escaping earth for a distant spiritual heaven.
It ends with heaven coming to earth.
The New Jerusalem comes down from God.
God dwells with His people.
The curse is removed.
Death is defeated.
Creation is made new.
The New Jerusalem is where the story that began in Genesis reaches its glorious conclusion.
From the Garden to the City
The New Jerusalem is not an unrelated ending added to the Bible’s story.
It completes the story God began in Genesis.
| Genesis | Revelation |
|---|---|
| A garden prepared for humanity | A city prepared for redeemed humanity |
| The tree of life stands in Eden | The tree of life grows beside the river of life |
| A river flows through the garden | A river flows from the throne of God and the Lamb |
| God walks with Adam and Eve | God dwells openly with His redeemed people |
| The curse enters creation | The curse is permanently removed |
| Humanity is driven from God’s presence | God’s people see His face |
| The way to the tree of life is guarded | The city’s gates never close |
| Creation begins | New creation is completed |
The New Jerusalem is not a different story from Eden.
It is the completion of the story God began there.
The Bible begins with two people in a garden.
It ends with a redeemed multitude living together in the city of God.
God did not abandon His original purpose for humanity.
Through Jesus Christ, He fulfilled it.
Is the New Jerusalem a Real City?
Before discussing the city’s size and shape, we should ask a more basic question:
Is the New Jerusalem an actual city, or is it simply a symbol?
Christians answer this question in different ways.
Some See the City as Primarily Symbolic
Because Revelation contains vivid symbolism throughout the book, some interpreters understand the New Jerusalem mainly as a symbolic picture of God’s redeemed people.
After all, the angel tells John that he will show him “the bride, the wife of the Lamb,” and then shows him the holy city (Revelation 21:9–10).
Elsewhere in Scripture, the bride clearly represents God’s people.
Others See a Real City Filled with Symbolism
Many Bible scholars, including Mark Hitchcock and Randy Alcorn, understand Revelation to describe an actual city while also using its architecture to communicate theological truth.
In other words, the city can be both real and symbolic.
Its inhabitants are real.
Its beauty is real.
Its dimensions may be real.
Yet every feature also reveals something about God, His people, and His eternal kingdom.
This fits the way Revelation communicates elsewhere.
Jesus is called the Lamb.
He is not literally a sheep.
But He is a real Person, and the title reveals the meaning of His sacrificial death.
Likewise, the New Jerusalem can be a genuine city while also picturing the redeemed people of God living forever in His presence.
The best conclusion may not be that the city is literal instead of symbolic or symbolic instead of literal.
It is a real city filled with symbolic meaning.
Its symbolism does not make it less real.
Its reality does not make its symbolism less important.
How Big Is the New Jerusalem?
John tells us that an angel measured the city with a golden measuring rod.
The city measured 12,000 stadia in length, width, and height (Revelation 21:15–17).
Depending on how the ancient stadium is calculated, that equals approximately 1,400 to 1,500 miles in every direction.
That is difficult to imagine.
If the New Jerusalem were placed over the continental United States, it would stretch approximately from Canada to Mexico and across a significant portion of the nation from east to west.
Its ground level alone would cover nearly two million square miles.
That is many times larger than some of the world’s largest nations.
And if the city truly rises approximately fifteen hundred miles, its potential living space becomes almost beyond calculation.
Randy Alcorn observes that if the city contained multiple levels only twelve feet apart, it could contain hundreds of thousands of stories with room for billions of inhabitants.
Revelation does not tell us whether we should picture the city as a modern structure divided into floors.
But John’s point is unmistakable.
There is more than enough room in God’s city for everyone He redeems.
Jesus told His disciples:
“There is more than enough room in my Father’s home… I am going to prepare a place for you.”
— John 14:2 (NLT)
The New Jerusalem reveals the generosity of the God who made that promise.
God’s city is not barely sufficient.
It overflows with abundance.
No one who belongs to Christ will arrive and discover there was not enough room.
The God who created the galaxies has prepared a home perfectly suited for His redeemed family.
Yet the city’s greatest treasure is not its size.
Its greatest treasure is that God Himself lives there with His people.
Is It a Cube or a Pyramid?
John says the city’s length, width, and height are equal (Revelation 21:16).
What shape does that describe?
The Cube View
Most Bible scholars understand the measurements to describe a perfect cube.
This is the most straightforward reading of a city whose length, width, and height are equal.
The cube also has an important Old Testament connection.
The Most Holy Place in Solomon’s Temple was itself a perfect cube.
The Pyramid or Mountain View
Some interpreters suggest the city may resemble a great mountain or pyramid, with its equal dimensions reaching upward toward a central peak.
This view draws support from biblical imagery connecting God’s kingdom with a holy mountain.
It also observes that John never specifically uses the word “cube.”
This interpretation is possible, though the passage does not explicitly describe a pyramid.
The city may be a cube.
It may have a form more glorious than our present architecture can fully imagine.
But the exact geometry is not John’s primary concern.
The point of Revelation 21 is not to satisfy our curiosity about architecture.
It is to magnify the glory of God dwelling forever with His people.
I find the cube interpretation most convincing because of its connection to the Most Holy Place.
That connection helps us understand why the city’s shape matters.
Why Is the City So Large?
The New Jerusalem’s size is not merely an impressive detail.
Its dimensions communicate theology.
There Is Room for Everyone God Redeems
Jesus promised that His Father’s house had more than enough room.
The size of the New Jerusalem shows that God has prepared an abundant home for every person saved through Christ.
The City Reflects God’s Generosity
Everything about the city reflects abundance.
Its dimensions are enormous.
Its beauty is overwhelming.
Its gates are always open.
Its light reaches the nations.
Its river never stops flowing.
Its tree never stops bearing fruit.
God’s Family Has Filled His Kingdom
Genesis begins with two image-bearers in a garden.
Revelation ends with an innumerable multitude in a city.
God commanded humanity to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Genesis 1:26–28).
Sin distorted that calling but did not defeat it.
Through Christ, God gathers redeemed image-bearers from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
The city is enormous because God’s redeemed family is enormous.
What began with one family in a garden ends with a redeemed multitude filling the city of God.
The New Jerusalem displays the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.
His family has become more numerous than anyone could count.
Every one of them has a home prepared by God Himself.
Why Is It Shaped Like the Holy of Holies?
If the New Jerusalem is a cube, its shape recalls one of the holiest places in the Old Testament.
Inside the tabernacle and later the temple was a room called the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies.
According to 1 Kings 6:20, Solomon’s Most Holy Place measured twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high.
It was a perfect cube.
Only one person could enter that room.
The high priest.
Only one day each year.
The Day of Atonement.
Only with sacrificial blood.
That room represented God’s holy presence among His people.
But a curtain separated sinful humanity from that presence.
The curtain proclaimed that God was near, yet access remained restricted.
Then Jesus died.
At the moment of His death, the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50–51).
Through His sacrifice, Jesus opened the way into God’s presence.
Revelation 21 shows the final fulfillment of that moment.
The curtain is not merely torn.
It is no longer needed.
The Holy of Holies has expanded from one small room to an entire city.
In the Old Testament, one high priest entered one room one day each year.
In the New Jerusalem, every redeemed believer lives forever in the place that room anticipated.
No curtain remains.
No barrier separates.
No earthly priest must enter on behalf of everyone else.
The final sacrifice has already been offered.
The Lamb has conquered.
Sin has been removed.
The curse has ended.
God now dwells openly with His people forever.
This also explains why Revelation says there is no temple in the city.
John writes:
“I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
— Revelation 21:22 (NLT)
There is no longer one sacred building where God’s presence may be approached.
The entire city is holy space.
God’s presence fills everything.
The streets are not the point.
The gates are not the point.
The jewels are not the point.
Even the city’s unimaginable size is not the point.
God is the point.
Without His presence, the city would merely be magnificent architecture.
With His presence, it becomes paradise.
The New Jerusalem is the fulfillment of God’s desire to dwell with His people from the beginning.
What Do the Twelve Gates and Foundations Mean?
The city has twelve gates bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:12–13).
It also has twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14).
Why are both groups named?
Because the city tells the story of God’s saving work throughout history.
The Gates Remember God’s Covenant Promises
The twelve tribes remind us that God called Abraham, formed Israel, gave His law, sent His prophets, and brought the Messiah into the world through Israel.
The gates testify that God remained faithful to His promises.
The Foundations Remember the Apostolic Witness
The twelve apostles were chosen by Jesus to bear witness to His life, death, and resurrection.
Paul says believers are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19–22).
Together, the gates and foundations proclaim the unity of God’s saving plan.
The God who called Abraham, formed Israel, sent the prophets, and fulfilled His promises through Jesus Christ has gathered one redeemed people from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
The city itself proclaims God’s covenant faithfulness from Genesis to Revelation.
Every promise reaches its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
The New Jerusalem does not appear at the end of an improvised story.
It stands at the end of the one story God has been writing from the beginning.
Why Are the Gates Never Closed?
John says the city’s gates will never close (Revelation 21:24–27).
In the ancient world, city gates were normally closed at night.
They protected the city from thieves, armies, and enemies who might attack under the cover of darkness.
Closed gates meant danger might be near.
But the New Jerusalem never closes its gates.
Why?
There is nothing left to fear.
Satan has been defeated.
Death has been destroyed.
Sin has been judged.
The curse has been removed.
No enemy remains.
No rebellion will arise.
No thief will enter.
No darkness will threaten God’s people again.
The open gates proclaim perfect peace.
Every enemy has been conquered by the Lamb.
Every earthly city has tried to achieve lasting security.
Walls were strengthened.
Towers were built.
Armies were raised.
Yet every human kingdom eventually falls.
The New Jerusalem will never fall because its security does not ultimately depend upon its walls.
Its security depends upon the King who reigns there.
Why Do the Nations Bring Their Glory into the City?
John says the nations will walk in the city’s light and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it (Revelation 21:24–26).
This raises several questions.
Who are the nations?
Who are the kings?
What glory are they bringing?
Because those questions deserve their own careful discussion, see:
Continue reading:
Whatever position one reaches on the details, Revelation’s central point is clear.
Every glory ultimately belongs to God.
Every crown is laid before His throne.
Every honorable achievement becomes an offering of worship.
Everything beautiful, good, and worthy finds its proper place beneath the authority of God and the Lamb.
What We Can Say with Confidence
Revelation 21 gives us a breathtaking picture that reaches beyond anything we have experienced.
Some details remain difficult to interpret with certainty.
Yet several truths are unmistakable.
We can say:
- The New Jerusalem is the eternal dwelling God has prepared for His redeemed people.
- The city can be both real and filled with symbolic meaning.
- Its enormous dimensions reflect God’s abundance and generosity.
- Its cube-like shape points to the Most Holy Place and God’s unveiled presence.
- Its gates and foundations proclaim God’s faithfulness throughout redemptive history.
- Its open gates declare that every enemy has been defeated forever.
- The city will be holy, secure, beautiful, and permanent.
- The greatest treasure of the city is God Himself.
We should be careful about saying:
- We know exactly how every architectural detail will appear.
- The symbolism of the city means it cannot also be real.
- The reality of the city means its symbolism is unimportant.
- The precise shape of the city is Revelation’s primary message.
- Speculative calculations are as certain as the truths John clearly emphasizes.
Whether the city is experienced as a perfect cube, a glorious mountain-like city, or something beyond our present imagination, one truth remains unchanged:
God Himself will dwell with His people forever.
What This Means for Us
The New Jerusalem is not included in Scripture merely to give us information about the future.
John’s description is meant to strengthen our hope and shape our lives now.
1. God Always Finishes What He Starts
The Bible begins with God creating the heavens and the earth.
It ends with God dwelling among His people in a new heaven and new earth.
Sin brought corruption into creation, but it did not overturn God’s sovereign purpose.
The New Jerusalem reminds us that God’s promises do not fail.
2. Our Future Is Physical, Not Merely Spiritual
The Christian hope is not an eternal existence as disembodied spirits floating among clouds.
Jesus rose bodily from the dead.
Believers will receive resurrected bodies.
We will live in God’s renewed creation.
Our future is embodied, relational, meaningful, and real.
3. God’s Presence Is Eternity’s Greatest Treasure
The gold captures our imagination.
The jewels inspire wonder.
The size overwhelms us.
Yet none of those things is the center of the city.
God is.
The greatest joy of eternity will not be exploring the city.
It will be living forever in the unveiled presence of the God who redeemed us.
4. There Is Room for Everyone Who Belongs to Christ
God has not reluctantly made room for His children.
He has joyfully prepared a home for them.
The New Jerusalem is not heaven’s reward for people who proved themselves worthy.
It is the home God prepared for people redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
5. Present Suffering Is Not the End of Our Story
Earthly cities fail.
Homes are lost.
Bodies weaken.
People we love die.
Everything in this age feels temporary.
But God has prepared a city that cannot fall, fade, decay, or be taken away.
The New Jerusalem teaches us to hold the things of this world with humility while holding the promises of God with confidence.
The Gospel Connection
The New Jerusalem is the final chapter of a story that began in Eden.
God created humanity to live in His presence, bear His image, cultivate His world, and rule under His authority.
Sin shattered that fellowship.
Humanity was driven from the garden.
The tree of life was guarded.
The ground was cursed.
Death entered the world.
But God did not abandon His creation or His purpose.
Through Abraham…
Through Israel…
Through the tabernacle…
Through the temple…
Through the prophets…
God prepared the world for the coming of His Son.
The Creator Became the Redeemer
Jesus entered the creation He had made.
He lived the life Adam failed to live.
He bore the curse humanity deserved.
He died in our place.
He rose victorious over sin and death.
And one day He will return to make all things new.
When Jesus died, the temple curtain was torn.
Through His sacrifice, the way into God’s presence was opened.
In the New Jerusalem, that access reaches its final fulfillment.
There is no curtain.
There is no temple building.
There is no separation.
God is with His people forever.
The story of the Bible is not ultimately about people escaping earth for heaven.
It is about heaven coming to earth.
The Bible begins with God creating a home for humanity.
It ends with God making His home among humanity once again.
What Adam lost…
Christ restored.
What sin cursed…
Christ redeemed.
What death destroyed…
Christ will raise.
The New Jerusalem is the final fulfillment of Emmanuel—God with us.
The Bible begins with two people in a garden.
It ends with a redeemed multitude in a city.
The garden has become a city.
The family has become a kingdom.
The promise has become reality.
The Lamb has accomplished everything the Father intended from the beginning.
The curse is gone.
Death is defeated.
The serpent has lost.
God is home with His people forever.
Key Takeaway
How large is the New Jerusalem?
According to Revelation, approximately fourteen hundred to fifteen hundred miles in every direction.
What shape is it?
A cube appears to be the most natural interpretation.
A mountain or pyramid-like design remains possible.
But if we focus only on the city’s geometry, we may miss John’s greater message.
The New Jerusalem is not impressive merely because of its architecture.
It is glorious because it reveals what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Its enormous size reminds us that there is room for everyone redeemed by Christ.
Its foundations and gates tell the story of God’s faithfulness.
Its open gates declare that every enemy has been defeated.
Its beauty reflects the glory of God’s kingdom.
Its cube-like shape reveals that the entire city has become the Holy of Holies.
God no longer dwells behind a curtain.
His people live openly in His presence.
That is the true wonder of the city.
Not merely its dimensions.
Not its walls.
Not its gold.
Not its jewels.
Not even its unimaginable beauty.
Its greatest treasure is God Himself.
One day, faith will become sight.
The gates will never close.
The curse will never return.
The Tree of Life will bear fruit forever.
We will see His face.
We will serve the Lamb.
We will reign forever.
And for the first time since Genesis 3…
Everything will finally be exactly as God intended it to be.
That is the true wonder of the New Jerusalem.
Not simply that it will be unimaginably beautiful…
But that God will be home with His people forever.
Related Articles
Sources and Further Reading
- Mark Hitchcock, 101 Answers to Questions About the Book of Revelation (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2012).
- Randy Alcorn, Heaven (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers).
- Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries, articles concerning the New Earth and New Jerusalem.
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