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[edit] The Book of Revelation
The term new Jerusalem occurs twice in the New Testament, in verses 3:12 and 21:2 of the Book of Revelation. The new in the New Jerusalem comes from the Greek word kainos, which has a meaing different from neos, the other Greek word usually translated into English as new. Neos refers to something newly created, whereas kainos means something renewed or refreshed. A large portion of the final two chapters of the Christian Bible deals with John of Patmos' vision of the New Jerusalem. He describes the New Jerusalem as "'the bride, the wife of the Lamb'".
After John witnesses the new heaven and a new earth "that no longer has any sea", an angel takes him "in the spirit" to a vantage point on "a great and high mountain" to see the New Jerusalem's descent. The enormous city comes out of heaven from God, down to the new earth. John follows his narration of the city's descent with an elaborate description.
The New Jerusalem is "pure gold, like clear glass" and its "brilliance [is] like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper." The street of the city is also made of "pure gold, like transparent glass". The base of the city is laid out in a square and surrounded by a wall made of jasper. John writes that the wall is 144 cubits, but is unclear if he means tall or thick. 144 cubits are about equal to 65 meters, or 72 yards.
There are twelve gates in the wall, three each on the east, north, south, and west sides, suggesting that the wall surrounding the New Jerusalem is also a square. There is an angel at each gate. The gates are each made of a single great pearl, giving them the name of the pearly gates. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are written on these gates.
The wall has twelve foundation stones, and on these are written the names of the twelve apostles. The foundation stones are adorned with the same stones as those set in the Ephod worn by the Jewish high priest, the Kohen Gadol:
| Layer | 6 | 10 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stone | Sardus (Ruby?) | Chrysoprase | Chalcedony (Carbuncle?) |
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| Tribe | Reuben | Simeon | Levi |
| Layer | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Stone | Emerald | Sapphire | Beryl |
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| Tribe | Judah | Issachar | Zebulun |
| Layer | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| Stone | Topaz | Jacinth (Turquoise?) | Amethyst (Crystal?) |
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| Tribe | Dan | Naphtali | Gad |
| Layer | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| Stone | Chrysolite | Sardonyx | Jasper |
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| Tribe | Asher | Joseph | Benjamin |
However, the precise identification of all these is not certain, as several of the names may refer to many different types of stones, or no longer refer to the same types of stones that they did at the time of Revelation's writing.
According to John, there is no temple building in the New Jerusalem, as the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the city's temple, since they are worshiped everywhere.
Revelation 22 goes on to describe a river of the water of life flowing down the middle of the great street of the city from this throne of God:
- "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever".
