“The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel)” (Revelation 21:15-17 NLT).
The 1400 mile distance provided by the New Living Translation of this passage equates to approximate length of 427 meters. The reference to “216 feet” yields an approximate width of 66 meters. The cubic height of such a city would easily extend into orbit around the earth and possess a total capacity of 2,744,000,000 cubic miles (11,452,744,000,000 cubic kilometers). A city of that volume might easily accommodate tens of billions of human beings.
The following verses continue with a further description of this city…
“The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Revelation 21:18-21).
So, these verses present a magnificent city of unsurpassed value, beauty, and inestimable worth. While modern roadways are typically constructed from common materials like stone or asphalt, “The broad street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (HCSB). Although we consider gold to be a costly and valuable commodity today, it will equate to little more than a common building material in this city of the future.
While some of the precious stones mentioned in this ancient text are familiar (like sapphires and emeralds), others are more difficult to identify. Nevertheless, we can make a rough approximation with the information we have…
- Jasper: a translucent stone, perhaps like a diamond.
- Sapphire: clear and dark blue.
- Chalcedony: white and opaque.
- Emerald: clear and brilliant green.
- Sardonyx: a red and white stone; the NIV equates this stone with an onyx.
- Carnelian: a deep red stone, perhaps like a ruby.
- Chrysolite: a clear yellow stone.
- Beryl: pale green, or possibly yellow.
- Topaz: a clear pink stone.
- Chrysoprase: turquoise-colored and opaque.
- Jacinth: a navy blue stone, possibly black.
- Amethyst: a clear purple stone.
So, while it may be challenging to identify some of these precious stones, they clearly illustrate the breathtaking magnificence of this city.