The new city has
gates- twelve of them. The new city has streets. This is a REAL city, a tangible city. Walls,
gates, streets. If you say the word
'city' a mental picture will formed based on your knowledge of cities. Maybe
you come from a small city, but even so you will know what a large city is. You
can envision a city and what sort of things are inside of cities? I live in a rather small city, comparted to
the largest. There were 165,831 people in the city I live in, in 2013- three
years ago. In 2014 in the largest city of the world - Tokyo, Japan had a population of 37,833,000! In both of these cities, the one I live in
and the most populated we know there are dwellings. People LIVE in cities. We will LIVE in this new city and it will be
large enough to hold ALL of God's people.
Let me ask you a
question, just something to think about. Would we need a city if we were mere
spirit form? Truly something to contemplate but not too deeply, not so that it
leads us to distraction. Some things we simply will not know fully until our
Savior returns for us.
May we all be blessed
to walk through gates of pearl and on streets of gold! All through our Savior, Jesus Christ!
Revelation 21-
VERSE 21. -- And the
twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl; and the
street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
(Excerpt taken from
Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)
The Gates of Pearl. -
Whether we understand that these gates were of solid pearl, or whether composed
of pearls thickly set in a framework of some other precious material, does not
materially affect the testimony. If it should be objected that it would be
contrary to the nature of things to have a pearl large enough for a gate, we
reply that God is able to produce it; the objection simply limits the power of
God. But in either case the gates would outwardly have the appearance of pearl,
and in ordinary language would be described as gates of pearl.
The Streets of
Burnished Gold. - In this verse, as also in verse 18, the city is spoken of as
built of gold, pure, like unto clear glass, or, as it were, transparent glass.
It is not necessary to conclude from this language that the gold is of itself
transparent. Take that, for instance, which composes the street. If it were
really transparent, it would simply permit us to look through and behold
whatever was beneath the city, - the substratum upon which it rested, - a view
which cannot be anticipated as specially pleasing. But let us suppose the
golden pavement of the street to be so highly polished as to possess perfect
powers of reflection, like the truest mirror, and
p 761 -- we can see at
once that the effect would be grand and striking in the extreme. Think for a
moment what the appearance of a street so paved would be. The gorgeous palaces
on either side would be reflected beneath, and the boundless expanse of the
heavens above would also appear below; so that to the person walking those
golden streets it would appear that both himself and the city were suspended
between the infinite heights above and the unfathomable depths below, while the
mansions on either side of the street, having equal powers of reflection, would
marvelously multiply both palaces and people, and conspire to render the whole
scene novel, pleasing, beautiful, and grand beyond conception.
*******
Gates of Pearl.
Streets of Pure Gold.
We all know about
things this world considers precious, special, priceless. To say pearls are
considered among the special things isn't an understatement at all. To have a
REAL pearl necklace is something wonderful. Just as having a real gold necklace
is equally precious, and expensive. We all know pearls and gold are among this
world's treasures so is it any wonder at all that our Lord would give us a
revelation that contains these amazing things? The Heavenly City, the New
Jerusalem will be a city unlike ANY other city that ever existed and ever will
exist.
By the GRACE of God we
will LIVE in that Holy Heaven Sent City!
Please, Lord, please.
In the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, our Savior now and forever, AMEN!
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