These angels are there to let in “only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (verse 27). Each gate of the New Jerusalem bears the inscription of one of the tribes of Israel, and each gate is guarded by an angel (Revelation 21:12). The gates of the city are symmetrically arranged: “There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west” (Revelation 21:13). This New Jerusalem sits on twelve foundations, representing the twelve apostles who would reign over the twelve tribes of Israel (verse 14 cf. Revelation speaks of the New Jerusalem that has been prepared for the reign of the Lamb (Revelation 21:1–3). Those twelve tribes escaped slavery in Egypt, inherited the Promised Land (Exodus 6:14 24:4), received the Law (Exodus 20), and were chosen by God to be His covenant people (Exodus 19:5–6).ĭuring the reign of David, out of all the territories of the tribes of Israel, God chose the city of Jerusalem in Judah as the place where God’s name would rest (2 Chronicles 12:13). To Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, whom God later named “Israel” (Genesis 32:28), twelve sons were born to establish the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49). In order to understand the significance of the twelve gates being inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes, we must look to the beginning of the Old Testament, when God promised a new land and a great nation to Abraham, whose descendants would spread blessing upon all other nations (Genesis 12:1–3). And the gates of the New Jerusalem will never be shut (verse 25). The gates are miraculous in their construction: “The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl” (verse 21). On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel” (verse 12). John describes the city: “It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. The twelve gates in Revelation 21 belong to the New Jerusalem, which comes down from heaven to the new earth (verse 10), shining with the glory of God (verse 11).
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