... HAD A WALL GREAT AND HIGH, AND HAD TWELVE GATES, ...

Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete) ^

[Yosemitest]

Let's read about the wall coming down from heaven.

But first, where did this information come from ?
We read in the first chapter of Revelations :

The Revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto him,
to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;
and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
who bare record of the word of God,
and of the testimony of Jesus Christ,
and of all things that he saw.
Blessed is he that readeth,
and they that hear the words of this prophecy,
and keep those things which are written therein:
for the time is at hand. ...

Now we go to Revelation 21, verses 1 thru 2 :

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.

We continue at verse 9 :

And there came unto me one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,
and talked with me, saying,
Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,
and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God:
and her light was like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
and had a wall great and high,
and had twelve gates,
and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
on the east three gates;
on the north three gates;
on the south three gates;
and on the west three gates.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations,
and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof,
and the wall thereof.
And the city lieth foursquare,
and the length is as large as the breadth:
and he measured the city with the reed,
twelve thousand furlongs.
The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
And he measured the wall thereof,
an hundred and forty and four cubits,
according to the measure of a man,
that is, of the angel.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper:
and the city was pure gold,
like unto clear glass.
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.
The first foundation was jasper;
the second, sapphire;
the third, a chalcedony;
the fourth, an emerald;
the fifth, sardonyx;
the sixth, sardius;
the seventh, chrysolite;
the eighth, beryl;
the ninth, a topaz;
the tenth, a chrysoprasus;
the eleventh, a jacinth;
the twelfth, an amethyst.
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.

So let us see what the Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete) has to say about this wall.

Verses 9-27
We have already considered the introduction to the vision of the new Jerusalem in a more general idea of the heavenly state;
we now come to the vision itself, where observe,

I. The person that opened the vision to the apostle —
one of the seven angels, that had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, v. 9.
God has a variety of work and employment for his holy angels.
Sometimes they are to sound the trumpet of divine Providence, and give fair warning to a careless world;
sometimes they are to pour out the vials of God’s anger upon impenitent sinners;
and sometimes to discover things of a heavenly nature to those that are the heirs of salvation.
They readily execute every commission they receive from God;
and, when this world shall be at an end,
yet the angels shall be employed by the great God in proper pleasant work to all eternity.

II. The place from which the apostle had this glorious view and prospect.
He was taken, in ecstasy, into a high mountain.
From such situations men usually have the most distinct views of adjacent cities.
Those who would have clear views of heaven must get as near heaven as they can,
into the mount of vision,
the mount of meditation and faith,
whence, as from the top of Pisgah,
they may behold the goodly land of the heavenly Canaan.

III. The subject-matter of the vision — the bride, the Lamb’s wife (v. 10);
that is, the church of God in her glorious, perfect, triumphant state,
under the resemblance of Jerusalem, having the glory of God shining in its lustre,
as uxor splendit radiis mariti
— the bride comely through the comeliness put on her by her husband;
glorious in her relation to Christ,
in his image now perfected in her,
and in his favour shining upon her.
And now we have a large description of the church triumphant under the emblem of a city,
far exceeding in riches and splendour all the cities of this world;
and this new Jerusalem is here represented to us both in the exterior and the interior part of it.

1. The exterior part of the city — the wall and the gates,
the wall for security
and the gates for entrance.

(1.) The wall for security.
Heaven is a safe state;
those that are there
are enclosed with a wall,
that separates them and secures them from all evils and enemies:
now here, in the account of the wall, we observe,

[1.] The height of it, which, we are told, is very high,
seventy yards (v. 17),
sufficient both for ornament and security.

[2.] The matter of it:
It was as jasper;
a wall all built of the most precious stones,
for firmness and lustre, v. 11.
This city has a wall that is impregnable as well as precious.

[3.] The form of it was very regular and uniform:
It was four-square,
the length as large as the breadth.
In the new Jerusalem all shall be equal in purity and perfection.
There shall be an absolute uniformity in the church triumphant,
a thing wanted and wished for on earth,
but not to be expected till we come to heaven.

[4.] The measure of the wall (v. 15, v. 16):
Twelve thousand furlongs each way, each side,
which is forty-eight thousand furlongs in the whole compass,
or fifteen hundred German miles.
Here is room sufficient for all the people of God —
many mansions in their Father’s house.

[5.] The foundation of the wall,
for heaven is a city that hath her foundations (v. 19);
the promise and power of God, and the purchase of Christ, are the strong foundations of the church’s safety and happiness.
The foundations are described by their number — twelve,
alluding to the twelve apostles (v. 14),
whose gospel doctrines are the foundations upon which the church is built,
Christ himself being the chief corner-stone;
and, as to the matter of these foundations, it was various and precious,
set forth by twelve sorts of precious stones,
denoting the variety and excellency of the doctrines of the gospel,
or of the graces of the Holy Spirit,
or the personal excellencies of the Lord Jesus Christ.

(2.) The gates for entrance.
Heaven is not inaccessible;
there is a way opened into the holiest of all;
there is a free admission to all those that are sanctified;
they shall not find themselves shut out.
Now, as to these gates, observe,

[1.] Their number — twelve gates,
answering to the twelve tribes of Israel.
All the true Israel of God shall have entrance into the new Jerusalem,
as every tribe had into the earthly Jerusalem.

[2.] Their guards which were placed upon them — twelve angels,
to admit and receive the several tribes of the spiritual Israel
and keep out others.

[3.] The inscription on the gates — the names of the twelve tribes,
to show that they have a right to the tree of life,
and to enter through the gates into the city.

[4.] The situation of the gates.
As the city had four equal sides, answering to the four quarters of the world,
east, west, north, and south,
so on each side there were three gates,
signifying that from all quarters of the earth
there shall be some who shall get safely to heaven and be received there,
and that there is as free entrance from one part of the world as from the other;
for in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, Barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free.
Men of all nations, and languages, who believe on Christ, have by him access to God
in grace here and in glory hereafter.

[5.] The materials of these gates — they were all of pearls, and yet with great variety:
Every gate one pearl, either one single pearl of that vast bigness, or one single sort of pearl.
Christ is the pearl of great price,
and he is our way to God.
There is nothing magnificent enough in this world fully to set forth the glory of heaven.
Could we, in the glass of a strong imagination, contemplate such a city as is here described,
even as to the exterior part of it, such a wall, and such gates,
how amazing, how glorious, would the prospect be !
And yet this is but a faint and dim representation of what heaven is in itself.

[Yosemitest]

Steve Cioccolanti made a comment on Facebook on March 13, that's worth reading.

ACTS 13. Political promises do not indicate political behaviour.
This is the case with most politicians, except Trump.
The "big beautiful wall" he promised.... is going to be built.
The President personally inspected them today at San Diego California.

Among the scenes of supporters was this Christian man who held up a sign that read
"PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT Acts 13".
For those who find the reference to Scripture a mystery, there is a key verse in this chapter.
It's in verse 22 that we find out God's opinion of an unlikely shepherd boy who was chosen,
not by human power
but by God,
to become the greatest king Israel would know until Jesus Christ was born,
"David, a man about whom God said,
'I have found David son of Jesse,
a man after my own heart.
He will do everything I want him to do.'"

I know many Trump haters will be reading this.
Some hate the wall
while they follow a Pope who lives behind the biggest wall on the continent of Europe.
(No, this does not make me anti-Catholic.
It means I have visited the Vatican City's and been through security.)
Others hate the wall and claim God wouldn't build one.
Every city in the Bible had a wall and John said he saw heavenly Jerusalem
"had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates" Revelation 21:12.
Lest someone think it's allegorical
(liberal theologians always do),
God had John clarify,
"Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick".
That's the mother of all walls !
There is no Biblical excuse for hating an honest politician who wakes up at 4am to work, doesn't drink all day, and delivers on his promises to the voters.
At last, how refreshing.

Combine this with the potential de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula,
Trump is a juggernaut of unparalleled productivity.
Objective fair-minded people around the world are beginning to see the United States as a towering beacon of light again.

I pray each of our nations, our churches, our homes and our hearts have an Acts 13 Leader governing on the inside.
Start with changing your mind and believing Jesus in your heart.

[Flaming Conservative]

Thank you for this wonderful post!

[Yosemitest]

You’re welcome.

[sauropod]

Thank you for this post.

For further study.

[Ezekiel]

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband...

...And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high...

Puritan

The New Jerusalem was an important theme in the Puritan colonization of New England in the 17th century. The Puritans were inspired by the passages in Revelation about the New Jerusalem, which they interpreted as being a symbol for the New World. The Puritans saw themselves as the builders of the New Jerusalem on earth. This idea was foundational to American nationalism.

New Jerusalem

1620-2020 = 400 years

[Yosemitest]

Look at the chart linked here.

In 1814, just 1260 years after "deadly wound" was healed, the "HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE" was dissolved.
"So closed a government that dated from Augustus Caesar" (West, p. 377).

Now consider this piece of history :

... Remember, God had warned Israel that if they did not keep His commandments and His statutes;
SEVEN TIMES national punishment would pass over them !
He would punish SEVEN TIMES for their sins!

Seven “times,” meaning seven prophetic years consists of seven times three hundred sixty days; 2520 days —
meaning a time span of two thousand, five hundred and twenty YEARS.

There's a lot of information between that excerpt and this one below for the same source. :

... Now, notice a date which bears no refutation — a date about which there can be no controversy !

The largest number of Israelites were removed by Assyrian forces in 718 B.C.
This represented the largest loss of territory, citizens, and plunder in the successive waves of Assyrian invasion against the northern ten-tribed House of Israel.
It included all of Ephraim and Manasseh !
Exactly seven times, or 2,520 years from 718 B.C.
(adding one year to account for both 1 A.D. and I B.C.)
brings us to 1803.

And what occurred of any significance in 1803 ?

In 1803, the emperor of France, Napoleon,
in return for bonds, and a cancellation of $3,750,000 in claims of U.S citizens against France,
sold all of Louisiana,
plus French-held territories as far north as the Canadian border
to the fledgling nation of the United States of America !

The famous “Louisiana Purchase” more than doubled the size and territories of the United States !
By the stroke of a pen, the U.S. more than doubled !
Strikingly, this occurred exactly 2,520 years from the time Israel lost the major share of her national territories !

[Ezekiel]

Here's the funny thing about America being "nowhere" in the Bible.

If you rearrange the name of the Jewish Bible, HaMikra...

המיקרא

(this is the full vocalized spelling with the yud vowel)

you get

אמריקה

America

Eh, no kidding. A mikra is also a key/legend to a map.

[Yosemitest]

My study of the Bible started around 1986 after a significant emotional event, and I run across a book and workbook titled "Before You Say 'I Do' ".
It pointed a coupe to discover just what were their core values and beliefs.
Some of the questions it ask the reader to respond to "given situations" ... made me discover that I really didn't know how to defend what my values and beliefs are.

Well, I'd seen religious people before, and I didn't want someone that was a con artist telling me what to think.
So I got 4 or 5 different versions of the Bible, all cross-referenced and study Bibles, and started looking up subjects and reading them all in parallel.
As long as they were all in agreement, I covered many different subjects quickly, like I'd been studying for my night college class while on active duty in the military.
BUT ... when one or more versions of the Bible took off on a different tangent, I dug in.
I'd take a sheet of paper and make a 'decision tree' with the references on one side of the debate on the left half of the paper, and the references on the other side of the debate on the right half of the paper.
The truth proved out very quickly, because there would always 95% or greater percentage of the references on one side of the debate, and very few references on the other side of the debate.

This type of soul searching went on for many years, and I slowly began to become very comfortable 'standing my ground' on religious subjects.
As I advanced in the military, I learned to care little of what other thought of my logic.
The more people you have to supervise, the less time you have to worry about their inflamed pride when you have to take over their position, to prevent an accident or incident in air traffic control.
You have to focus on the subject, and prioritize quickly.

Well the same applies to religious debates, that is ... stay focused on the subject.
And the Bible has so many different tangents that are really interesting on many different levels.

I'd always write the two sides of a debate on the top of the page, when making my 'decision tree', along with the initial reference that started the debate.

I haven't learned the Greek language, or the Hebrew language, or the Aramaic Language, but there are many people, and study dictionaries out there that you can research to get to the bottom of a subject.

Bible study always bring me peace, and quiets my mind, and allows me to get some sleep, even in the most trying of times.

[Ezekiel]

Interesting post, thanks. I have found that the best insight comes from those places where “everyone agrees”, because in many cases, everyone is wrong.

The exile ended (ends) with this note:

Jer 29.13. And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart:

Many blessings, fruitfulness and peace on your daily spiritual journey.

[Yosemitest]

"I have found that the best insight comes from those places where “everyone agrees”,
because in many cases, everyone is wrong."

You hit the nail on the head with that one.
Most of them haven't done their own research.
I've gotten many different study Bibles over the years, and quite a few complete concordances.

Several years ago someone was trying to defend their position and quickly ran out of scripture to defend his argument.
Then he and his cohorts switch to a "you shouldn't offend" argument.

I took them to Luke 4:14-30 .
Have you really studied the way Jesus taught in his FIRST sermon ?

He made the people jealous in his first lesson,
and the people threw him out,
and were ready to KILL HIM !

The truth MUST be faced, OPENLY, and BLUNTLY !

[Ezekiel]

Have you really studied the way Jesus taught in his FIRST sermon ?

He wasn't whom they expected.

The truth MUST be faced, OPENLY, and BLUNTLY !

Like saying that the Establishment Jesus is the fake Jesus. Fightin' words.

History is prophecy.

[Yosemitest]

And most of that prophecy is either out of the old testament, or a rephrased quote from the old testament.

[Yosemitest]

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