Is the New Jerusalem a single building or a city containing many buildings? Is it pyramid or cube shaped? What is the size of it? If it has foundations on the earth, what effect will this have on the rotation of the earth? Will it have a greater wobble than it does now? Since it is highly probable that the buildings will have more than one floor (as most cities do), will there be elevators? Will there be a plumbing system? Toilets? Toilet paper? If so, where will the toilet paper come from? Also, how will a person go from place to place in this mega city? Will it have a transportation system? Vehicles? Stop lights? Will there be accidents? Since the river of crystal clear living water will be flowing from the throne of God, where will the river end? What do we know about life in this city?
The Shape & Size of the City
Bible teachers and commentators disagree on the shape of the city of God, or New Jerusalem. Some say it is a perfect cube (as in the picture above), others that it is pyramidal in shape, and others say it is dome shaped. So, which is right? Which is more in keeping with the scripture record?
I believe a pyramidal shape is right, and for the following reasons.
1. Mountains are pyramidal in shape and the city of God is identified as a mountain. We noticed in previous chapters how Paul speaks of "Mount Zion" as being all one with "the city of the living God." (Heb. 12: 22-24) So also does several other texts of scripture. Recall Isaiah's words:
“It shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.” (Isaiah 2:2, NKJV)
Also, the apostle John connects the New Jerusalem with a great and high mountain, writing:
"And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." (Rev. 21: 10)
So too do many other texts, such as these:
"Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge." (Psa. 48: 1-3 kjv)
"In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south." (Eze. 40: 2)
That is how Clarence Larkin conceived it and drew an image of it and included in his book Dispensational Truth (p. 148). (This is a book that every student of eschatology should have. His charts are generally very good)
2. Everything in the world to come, and in the New Jerusalem particularly, will be beautiful and nothing ugly. Many scriptures teach this. Even now, we can say with Solomon that "he has made everything beautiful in his time." (Eccl. 3: 11) So too is the city of God, both the citizens and the structures and appurtenances of it. So testifies the Psalmist:
"The King's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the King." (Psalm 45:13, 14)
In the New Testament the same truth is taught. Wrote the apostle Paul:
"to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Eph. 5: 26-27 NIV)
But, a cube is not all that beautiful in itself. However, pyramid shaped mountains and cities are often beautiful. Further, some pyramids are more like a ziggurat, as in the famous hanging gardens of Babylon. Further, no city on earth is a perfect cube. If you look at the skyline of the greatest cities, the taller buildings are in the center and from there outward the buildings become smaller, giving the appearance of a pyramid. There are exceptions to this, however, as in Athens, Greece. There the Parthenon sits high on a hill over the city and Athens allows no building to be built to the same height. But, even in this case, the Parthenon, being in the center, still gives this pyramidal shape.
Actually the size of the New Jerusalem, then it is about the size of the moon, in fact the moon could fit into the cube. However, bible teachers and commentators disagree on the total width, height, and length. John gives the dimensions by "stadia" the Greek word. It is given as 12,000 stadia. So, how long is that? Also, is John giving the total of all four sides of the base or the size of each of the four sides?
Wrote one source on this question (see here - emphasis mine):
"How large is the city? That varies slightly depending on the version of the Bible. The ESV and NIV versions say it is 12,000 stadia in length and width (Rev. 21:16), where a stadia is 607 feet. This translates to 1,400 miles, which is what the NLT Bible says. However, the KJV and other versions say 12,000 furlongs, which translates to 1,500 miles.
Regardless of whether the city is 1,400 miles or 1,500 miles in length and width, it is shaped like a square at the base. This means New Jerusalem is larger than India with nearly 2 million square miles. These measurements are meant to be literal since they are described as man’s measurements (Rev. 21:17).
Even more astounding than the size at the base is the height that is also at least 1,400 miles (Rev. 21:16). This goes well beyond Earth’s atmosphere and into space. If a building in the city is this high and has a generous 12 feet per story, the building would be over 600,000 stories!"
Wrote the same source:
"Does the height refer to the wall that surrounds the city or the tallest building? Rev. 21:17 says the wall around the city is about 200 feet, but ESV, NASB and KJV bibles don’t specify whether this is the thickness or height. The NIV bible says this is about 200 feet thick, but the footnote says “or high”. A cube-shaped city would make sense in the sense the Most Holy place in Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:20) was shaped like a cube. However, scripture does not provide a definitive answer as to whether the city is cube or pyramid-shaped."
Though it may not be a "definite answer" yet I believe the city is in the shape of a mountain, or perhaps as a ziggurat.
Is the 1400 miles (or 1500) the length of each side or is it the total of all four sides? That is another question that is discussed by commentators.
Said one source on this question (see here - emphasis mine):
"Interestingly, New Jerusalem has a wall surrounding it (Rev 21.17). So, Rev 21.16 likely means that the wall surrounding New Jerusalem is “foresquare” and that it is about 1,500 miles in circumference. The text says, “The city lies foursquare,” meaning its base which is surrounded by the wall. Accordingly, each of the four sides of the base of New Jerusalem are 375 miles in length, not 1,500 miles as commonly understood. And, of course, the height of the city is 375 miles as well, not 1,500 miles."
That may well be true. Either way, the city is truly large, bigger than any city now on earth.
Wrote the same source:
"It is surprising that none of the scholars cited above consider this method of measurement or that these dimensions in Rev 21.16 could describe a mountain just as much as a cube. This is especially so since a mountain is the more reasonable shape among the three possible choices of a cube, pyramid, or mountain. Moreover, we have seen that the author of Hebrews associates “heavenly Jerusalem” with heavenly “Mount Zion” (Hebrews 12.22). And John the Revelator informs us he received this vision of the city when an angel “carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem” (Rev 21.10). So, John associates the city with a mountain, which further suggests that the city is shaped like a mountain. That is how Clarence Larkin conceived it as he drew the image, attached here, that he included in his book Dispensational Truth (p. 148)."
I also do not believe the New Jerusalem is a cube, but shaped like a mountain, or pyramid.
Wrote the same source:
"Some of the above scholars mention the holy of holies in the temple at earthly Jerusalem since it was cube-shaped, as if that supports their interpretation of the shape of New Jerusalem. But a sanctuary is not a city, and it is so miniscule compared to any city, much less this massive city that its shape seems irrelevant. What makes this more irrelevant is that John says there is “no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21.22). If this heavenly city New Jerusalem has no temple, apparently it has no sanctuary; for the sanctuary is located in the temple."
I think this is right, and for the reasons stated already.
Wrote the same source:
"The Bible constantly identifies God as “the Most High,” which should be understood literally. That is, in heaven God is higher than anyone else, except for the Lamb, Jesus, sitting alongside him. God being Most High symbolizes that he is Almighty. When John the Revelator says of heavenly New Jerusalem, “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it” (Revelation 22.3), he means the throne will be located at the top of the holy city. But if the top of the city is a level plane, as with a cube, other beings could be situated in countless locations on this plane and thereby be as high as God and the Lamb seated on God’s throne."
In the bible Jesus is said to be the capstone, which implies a pyramidal structure. A pyramid has five corners, four at the base and one on top that links together the four corners of the base. (See Zech. 4: 7 for instance)
What will be the purpose of the walls around the New Jerusalem? Those who do not think John's description of the holy city is literal often say that the presence of walls upholds their idea that it is figurative, and describes not heaven, but the church of God on earth prior to the second coming. They argue that walls around cities were for protection against attacks by enemies and say that such cannot be true of heaven, or of a literal city of God on a new earth. But, walls are not always for defensive reasons. They are also designed to mark off an area, to delineate borders. They are also intended to keep trespassers and uninvited peoples from entering.
Why is there a "street"? Is it for walking or for vehicles or both? Is there only one street or more than one? If there are stories or levels to the city, will the street connect all of them?
In the next chapter we will look at these things more closely.
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