“The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone.” (Revelation 21:15-21, NASB)

If you were a stone in heaven, what kind of a stone would you be? Would you be a stone of gold, silver, a precious gem, or a simple rock? The Bible describes our lives in heaven in many ways, and one of them is as a stone. According to today’s reading, our righteous deeds will be like “precious stones” adorning the wall of the new Jerusalem. It says,

“And the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. And 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. And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. And the material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 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; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

John saw in a vision the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, beautiful as a bride, the wife of the Lamb. The city itself was laid out in a square, with a great, high wall with three gates on each side. When the angel measured the city, it came out to be about 1,500 miles in length, width, and height. (According to Google Maps, the distance between San Diego and Seattle is roughly about 1,255 miles, and so you can do the math.) It says that its 1,500 miles of walls were “adorned with every kind of precious stones.”

Now, the question of whether the new Jerusalem is a literal or figurative building is debatable, but one thing is for sure: This is the city of God and our new home. The Bible says that Jesus is “the stone which the builders rejected, but this became the very cornerstone” (1 Pet.2:7), and the rest of the foundation for God’s house is built upon the “foundation of apostles and prophets” (Eph.2:20). This makes sense since John saw in his vision the wall of the city having twelve foundation stones with the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb written on it. Furthermore, the Bible says that we as believers are “living stones… being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet.2:5). Paul adds, “Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work” (1 Cor.3:12-13). Obviously, the fire will burn up wood, hay, and straw, but any of our work having the qualities of gold, silver, or precious stones will remain. God will use them to adorn the walls of His city with these precious stones, which are symbols of our faith in Him. (It reminds me of parents who adorn their refrigerator doors and the walls of their homes with their children’s artwork.)

Look at the sample list of the beautiful and precious stones that the wall will display: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst. And on top of all this, it says that the city’s streets are made of “pure gold, like transparent glass.” Now I don’t know for certain whether this is a literal or figurative language, but it is exciting that God will decorate His house with our righteous deeds. And the coolest thing about it all is that no one light will stand out, but every single light will sparkle and shine together to give glory to the house of God. Like the Christmas lights and the stars in the sky, every one of these precious stones will add to the glory of God. There will be people from every tongue, tribe, and nation. There will be men, women, great, and small. There will be shining lights, which represent the righteous deeds of the saints, adorned brilliantly everywhere in the city. So, what kind of stone will you be in heaven?

• What do you think? If the new Jerusalem is a figurative city, why does it have measurements of shape and size?
• If our righteous deeds will be like valuable jewels in God’s city, what does that mean for the way Christians should live now?