What is the meaning of Revelation 21:18? The wall was made of jasper • John sees an actual wall, not merely a symbol. Its material—jasper—matches the stone that earlier “gleamed like crystal” around God’s throne (Revelation 4:3), tying the city’s defenses directly to God’s own splendor. • As Revelation 21:11 notes, the holy city “shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like a most precious stone, like a jasper, clear as crystal.” The same brilliance now surrounds its walls, assuring believers of both beauty and security. • Walls signify protection (Isaiah 26:1), so a jasper wall declares that the Lord’s glory itself is our everlasting safety. and the city itself of pure gold, • Unlike earthly gold that is alloyed or mixed, the city’s fabric is “pure.” Scripture repeatedly links gold with that which belongs uniquely to God—think of the Most Holy Place overlaid with gold in Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:20-22). • The promise extends to every citizen: our eternal home will be more glorious than anything Solomon built (Matthew 12:42). • Revelation 21:21 affirms the theme: “The great street of the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.” Streets, buildings, every surface—nothing is common or corruptible (1 Peter 1:4). as pure as glass • Gold so refined that it becomes transparent underscores total purity (Job 23:10). Nothing opaque, nothing to hide; the city’s very substance invites unhindered fellowship with God (Revelation 22:4). • The crystal-clear sea before God’s throne (Revelation 4:6) and the “river of the water of life, clear as crystal” (Revelation 22:1) echo the same idea: no barriers between God and His people. • The clarity also highlights truth—what we now see “as in a mirror dimly” will then be fully revealed (1 Corinthians 13:12). summary Revelation 21:18 pictures a literal, dazzling New Jerusalem whose jasper walls embody divine glory and protection, whose pure-gold construction proclaims priceless worth, and whose glass-like transparency guarantees perfect purity and unobstructed communion with God forever. |
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