Bible Fact · Revelation 21:16 — 'The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width... its length and width and height are equal.'
The Size of the New Jerusalem
The Fact
Revelation 21:15–16 records an angel measuring the New Jerusalem: 'The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.' Twelve thousand stadia is approximately 1,400 miles (2,200 km). A cube of those dimensions would be 1,400 miles on every side — stretching from New York to Denver, or from London to Turkey, or from Beijing to Singapore. The volume would be roughly 2.74 billion cubic miles. Whether the dimensions are literal or symbolic (reflecting the perfectly proportioned Holy of Holies in the Temple, which was also a cube), they convey the same truth: there is more than enough room in God's eternal dwelling for all who come. The city has no temple (God himself is its temple), no sun or moon (God's glory illuminates it), and its gates are never shut.
Context
The Holy of Holies in Solomon's Temple was a perfect cube (20 cubits × 20 cubits × 20 cubits). The New Jerusalem as a perfect cube suggests that the entire city is the ultimate Holy of Holies — God's presence filling the whole new creation.
Significance
The dimensions of the New Jerusalem communicate abundance, not scarcity. God's eternal home is not a cramped afterthought — it is a lavishly spacious, divinely designed dwelling for his people.
Reflection
God's eternal city has gates that are never shut and room for all who come. Is there someone in your life whom you need to welcome with the same open-armed generosity that the New Jerusalem embodies?