SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/1/2015
11:24 PM
My Worship Time Focus: Its Exterior
Design
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 21:12-21a
Message of the
verses: “12 It had a great and high
wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written
on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13
There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates
on the south and three gates on the west. 14 And the wall of the city had
twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb. 15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to
measure the city, and its gates and its wall. 16 The city is laid out as a
square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with
the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. 17
And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements,
which are also angelic measurements. 18 The material of the wall was jasper;
and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundation stones of the
city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation
stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth,
emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the
sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz;
the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And
the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl.”
I mentioned in our last SD that what John is describing
in these verses is a real place, and although there are some who try to say
that John wrote is not really what he meant to write or that his description is
wrong don’t really know what they are talking about. There may be more to what is going to be
their other than what John describes, but certainly not less and what he is
describing is accurate.
The first thing we notice is that there is a great high
wall and John MacArthur writes that this wall “indicates that it is not an
amorphous, nebulous, floating place. It has specific dimensions; it has limits;
it can be entered and left through its twelve gates.” We see that God has placed 12 angels at these
gates in order to attend to God’s glory and also serve His people. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent
out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (Heb.
1:14).” We then learn that these twelve
gates have names for each of them and those names are the twelve tribes of
Israel, and also that there are three gates on each side of the structure and
when we understand how long this structure is we have to believe that these
gates are a long way apart. John MacArthur
writes of these twelve gates “That arrangement is reminiscent to the way the
twelve tribes camped around the tabernacle (Num. 2), and of the allotment of
the tribal lands around the millennial temple (Ezekiel 48).”
Next we see that this massive wall of the city was
anchored by twelve foundation stones, and then we learn that the names of our
Lord’s disciples were written on these stones, and again these stones must be
massive. MacArthur writes of these stones
that they “commemorate God’s covenant relationship with the church, of which
the apostles are the foundation (Eph. 2:20).
At the top of each gate was the name of one of the tribes of Israel; at
the bottom of each gate was the name of one of the apostles. Thus, the layout of the city’s gates picture
God’s favor on all His redeemed people, both those under the old covenant, and
those under the new covenant.”
We will continue looking at the outside of the New
Jerusalem in our next SD.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “In spirit and in truth” (John
4:24).”
Today’s Bible
question: “Who said ‘Lo, I see four men
loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt?’”
Answer in our next SD.
11/1/2015 11:44 PM
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