The Book of Revelation | Sharing In God's Victory

15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

Revelation 21:15-21 (NIV)

The detailed description of the New Jerusalem's materials—jasper walls, foundation stones of every precious gem, gates of pearl, streets of gold—culminates John's vision of what it means to share in God's victory.

But remember, these aren't literal building materials any more than the dragon in Revelation 12 was a literal reptile. John is using symbolic language to communicate spiritual truth. The abundance of precious materials represents the complete reversal of earthly values and the fulfillment of every legitimate desire.

What makes this passage so powerful is what it says about the nature of victory itself. Sharing in God's victory doesn't mean getting revenge on our enemies or finally proving we were right all along. It means entering into a reality where the things that separate us from God and from each other no longer exist.

The city has no temple "because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." This means that the entire new creation becomes a place of worship, where the sacred and secular are no longer distinguished because everything is holy.

There's no sun or moon "because the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." This suggests that in the new creation, all illumination comes directly from God himself. Truth, beauty, and understanding flow directly from their source.

The nations "will walk by its light," and "the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it." This isn't about political structures being imported into heaven, but about all human achievement and culture being purified and offered back to God.

Most remarkably, "nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." The victory we share isn't just over external enemies but over the sin and brokenness that corrupts everything in this present age.

Sharing in God's victory means becoming the people God always intended us to be, living in the world God always intended us to inhabit.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the promise that I can share in your victory. Help me to live now as someone who belongs to your eternal kingdom.